A winter storm expected to dump 3 to 9 inches across the Denver metro Tuesday and Wednesday is “exactly what the doctor ordered,” according to Russell Danielson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boulder.
While not a reset for the state’s extreme drought, the spring storm will provide moisture after an unusually warm winter.
The winter storm debuted Monday with a series of cold fronts rolling in with the possibility of rain showers and thunderstorms later Monday afternoon, Danielson said.
But the weather action should really kick off Tuesday. Ditch those short sleeves and sandals as temperatures are expected to descend into the 30s by 3 p.m. A mix of rain and light snow is likely to fall throughout the day on Tuesday, but not much is expected to accumulate. By 3 a.m. Wednesday morning, the precipitation is likely to switch to all snow in Denver and across northeastern Colorado, Danielson said.
Warm temperatures should keep the snow from causing too much traffic tomfoolery on Tuesday, but by the evening, roads are likely to turn slick, Danielson said. The Wednesday morning commute may prove wicked.
“The good news with that is we’re not expecting impacts on the roads basically through Tuesday evening just because roads will be so warm despite snow falling,” Danielson said. “The Wednesday morning commute is the one thatap going to be the worst conditions.”
The snow is forecast to continue for a decent chunk of Wednesday, Danielson said, but the May sun will help melt the worst of it during the day in the metro area, according to NWS. The snow is likely to be heavy and wet, NWS said, so watch out below for overburdened tree branches and sagging power lines. Power outages are a possibility.
On Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service issued a freeze watch across swaths of the state — east central, north central and northeast — including Boulder, Golden, Greeley, Littleton, Denver International Airport, Fort Lupton and Castle Rock.
The freeze watch is in effect from Wednesday night through Thursday morning as sub-freezing temperatures as low as 23 degrees are possible, according to NWS.
Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing, NWS warned.
Meteorologists warned folks should take steps now to protect their plants from the cold.
As of Monday morning, included expected totals of:
- 2 inches in Greeley and Fort Collins with up to 5 inches possible
- 3 inches in Denver, Commerce City and Brighton with up to 5 inches possible
- 5 inches in Aurora, Highlands Ranch, Broomfield and Castle Rock with up to 9 inches possible
- 6 inches in Parker, Centennial, with up to 11 inches possible
- 7 inches in Boulder and Castle Rock with up to 11 inches possible
- 9 inches at Breckenridge with up to 14 inches possible
- 11 inches on Interstate 70’s Vail Pass, with up to 17 inches possible
- 11 inches in Evergreen, with up to 15 inches possible
- 13 inches in Black Hawk and Central City, with up to 19 inches possible
- 14 inches in Georgetown and on Colorado 9’s Hoosier Pass near Fairplay, with up to 21 inches possible
- 14 inches in Winter Park, with up to 25 inches possible
- 17 inches in Estes Park, with up to 21 inches possible
- 17 inches on U.S. 6’s Loveland Pass, with up to 27 inches possible
- 18 inches in Nederland, with up to 22 inches possible
- 20 inches in Eldora, with up to 27 inches possible
- 20 inches on U.S. 40’s Berthoud Pass near Winter Park, with up to 33 inches possible
- 25 inches on Colorado 14’s Cameron Pass near Walden, with up to 36 inches possible
- 27 inches at Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, with up to 35 inches possible
The precipitation is much needed as extreme drought plagues the state, Danielson said.
Low snow in the Colorado mountains during the exceptionally warm winter has led to below-average flows in the waterways that supply metro Denver — around 18% of the norm last week in the Colorado River Basin and 2% of the norm in the South Platte River Basin, according to Denver Water measurements.
While the snow is “exactly what the doctor ordered,” Danielson said it’s not enough for a miraculous drought reversal.
“Itap great, but when the northern mountains and northwest Colorado are in the worst category of drought… it won’t make a significant impact on that level of drought,” Danielson said. “But it is a huge help, and we’re thankful for this moisture coming our way.”
The weather service also issued for parts of Adams, Arapahoe, El Paso, Elbert, Jackson, Lincoln, Park, Summit, Teller and Weld counties. Those advisories will be in effect from 6 p.m. Tuesday to 6 p.m. Wednesday.
If snow falls in the metro as predicted, it will mark Denver’s latest measurable spring snow since 2022, . The latest spring snow ever recorded in Denver was on June 2, 1951.
For those lamenting the snow, don’t fret for too long. Warm weather is expected to return by the end of the week. In true Colorado fashion, Thursday’s forecast is sunny with a high near 67, according to the National Weather Service.
