Weather5280

This is a collaborative post from multiple authors at Weather5280.
State of the Atmosphere
Colorado weather: Snowy in the mountains this week, Denver to catch leftovers
Overall our weather pattern this week will favor the mountains with the moisture, but leave lower-end probabilities for the metro areas and plains. There are at least systems that bare watching, but as of this writing the snowfall potential for the eastern half of the state is low. With that said, lacking a strong system, temperatures are expected to stay relatively on a normal path for Denver, with no huge swings in the outlook at this time. There is a potential change to next weekend's outloo
Denver Snow
Storm recap, next snow a few days out
Another healthy storm which spread some moisture back across the metro areas favored those in Boulder and Jefferson Counties with the deepest totals. Here are statewide totals via CoCoRaHS Thursday morning. A full list of reported totals via the NWS is her
Severe Weather
Severe weather to move across Denver area and the region Thursday
Severe weather is likely from the foothills to the plains Thursday afternoon and evening. Hail and an isolated tornado will be threats from the storms as they march east. The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm watch for areas shaded yellow here: Severe weather, as of 3 pm, was farther west than the official watch area indicates in that image above, however, the watch was extended to the west to cover the damaging storms that developed near the city [https://twitter.com/NWSBo
Denver Forecast
Uptick in thunderstorm chances for the weekend across Colorado
After some quiet, almost silent, weather days we will see an increase in thunderstorm chances for the weekend. Let's run through a couple hourly planners. One for Denver and the second for Colorado Springs. You can customize your locations for these with your membership. DenverColorado SpringsWe can see the Springs has a higher chance of storms, but in both cases we see Sunday is more likely for some rain. Let's watch an animation across Colorado to show
Memorial Day
Memorial Day rain showers expected, mostly across Southern Colorado
After a wet Sunday, additional rain will fall Memorial Day but today will not be nearly as active as yesterday for many of us. Before we check the forecast, let's look at rainfall totals. Just Sunday, many spots of the Front Range and the plains had close to and over one inch of rain. This was not true for Western Colorado where conditions continue to remain quite dry. For Memorial Day there will be additional rainfall, however, it will be a drier day overall as compared to yesterday. The e
Denver Forecast
Rain on the way for many across Colorado and Denver area Sunday
A cool and potentially wet day is on tap for many of us Sunday as rain chances climb and temperatures hold near 60 for highs. The hourly planner for Denver is shown here with temperatures and rain chances. And for Colorado Springs: You can find daily and hourly chances for rainfall at your exact location here . Let's take a look at the estimated location of rain across Colorado in a few timesteps. First, Noon: Now 2 pm: 4 p
Denver Forecast
Stormy Memorial Day weekend on tap for Denver and the plains
A rather unsettled few days are ahead, kicking off Saturday, with rain chances highest for Sunday. The activity kicks off Saturday with some severe thunderstorms to develop by midday through the afternoon and evening. The highest risk of damaging weather will be for Southern Colorado Saturday. Here's an outlook from the NWS-Pueblo . On a wider view: For Sunday and Monday, the severe weather risk decreases but rain chances increase.
Severe Weather
Tornado watch issued for parts of Colorado through Wednesday evening
Tornadoes, wind and hail are all possible threats from thunderstorms that develop Wednesday afternoon through the evening. The highest concern is within the yellow shaded counties shown here. > The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of  Northeastern and extreme eastern Colorado Western Kansas Southwestern Nebraska * Effective this Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning from 440 PM until 200 AM CDT. ...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION... * Pri
Weather5280 Insider
Denver's rain chances again favor the weekend and Memorial Day
Like clockwork rain chances will increase this weekend, like several of the past weekends, and there will be an impact for Memorial Day. Two considerations for a wetter few days: The MJO is going to shift toward a wetter phase – albeit not as strongly as in the past few weeks. Plus, historically we have seen some moisture in similar patterns. The analog forecast for precipitation next week is as follows, and shows wetter than average conditions to the east and north of the state with near norm
Severe Weather
Tornado watch issued for parts of the metro areas and the eastern plains of Colorado
A tornado watch has been issued for Saturday afternoon and evening. Here is the issuance by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. > URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED    Tornado Watch Number 193    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK    1215 PM MDT Sat May 22 2021 > The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a > * Tornado Watch for portions of Eastern Colorado > * Effective this Saturday afternoon and evening from 1215 PM until 800 PM MDT. > * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes p
Denver Forecast
Higher risk of severe storms for Saturday, including the Denver area
Thunderstorm season continues, and now that the region is seeing warmer temperatures those thunderstorms are gaining in strength. For the next few days, Colorado and its surroundings will be within the watchful eye of meteorologists and storm chasers. To use the SPC's thunderstorm outlooks (shouldn't use these as 'law' or the foundation of a forecast but they do provide a nice overview of potential storm areas of concern) for the next few days, keep your eye on that yellow area as it transitio
Denver Forecast
Rainy pattern continues with next round of rain to hit Denver
One of the last rounds of rainfall moves into the metro areas mid-morning Tuesday but there will be somewhat of a drier trend the rest of this week. Rain arrived first near Castle Rock with additional showers to the east set to move into the Denver area from the east. The showers we see on the radar image above will weaken before hitting the I-25 corridor. Here's an animation of the rain and snow across Colorado for the bulk of Tuesday: That animation shows the heaviest activity to be over so
Severe Weather
Southern Colorado sees return of severe weather Monday afternoon, showers near Denver
Most of Colorado remains unsettled with a number of showers and thunderstorms, including within the Denver area, but the strongest of the activity is over Southeastern Colorado. A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for this part of Colorado, as outlined here. > * Effective this Monday afternoon and evening from 140 PM until      1000 PM MDT.     * Primary threats include...      Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2.5        inches in diameter likely      Scatter
Drought
Parts of the Denver metro area removed from drought classification
In Thursday's drought monitor, we see that much of Colorado's northern Front Range has been removed from the drought. Those metro locations that remain in abnormally dry (not drought) conditions are parts of Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert, and Jefferson Counties. Just looking at Denver's precipitation so far this year, over 8 inches thus far. Go back farther in Denver's history from the start of 2020 to date and you'll see where the drought trouble came into play. Since May of 2020, we'v
Snow Squall
Snow squall warnings issued between Denver and Colorado Springs
Intense snowfall Tuesday afternoon reduces visibility and slows traffic through the Gap Project on I-25 between Castle Rock and Colorado Springs. Here is a view from a CDOT webcamera near Larkspur, CO at 2:45 pm Tuesday. There are two snow squall warnings as of 2:50 pm, one for Douglas County and the other for El Paso, County. > The National Weather Service in Denver Colo
Snow
Next snowfall for Denver and Front Range arrives early next week
As we gradually clear from the last snow event, the next is on the way set to arrive Monday into Tuesday for Denver and the metro areas. While today remains chilly, with even some flurries around, Sunday should be much milder across the region with more sun as well before our next system swings through Monday and Monday night. Heres's a look at the 500mb pattern for Monday night as the next trough swings through the region: This system will be a weaker trough that swings through, but will
Denver Forecast
Winter weather advisory issued for Palmer Divide
There's heavy enough snowfall late Tuesday to prompt a winter weather advisory for parts of the Palmer Divide. > ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT MDT TONIGHT... * WHAT...Snow showers ongoing. Additional snow accumulations around two inches. Winds gusting as high as 40 mph. * WHERE...Castle Rock. * WHEN...Until Midnight MDT tonight. * IMPACTS...Slushy roads and poor visibility. There was mostly rainfall up north near Fort Collins with near 0.10 inches reported to us on twi
Denver Forecast
Warmest weather in over 150 days is on the way to Denver for Easter
The last time Denver was nearly 80 degrees was November 3rd, 2020 with a high of 79. We will be targeting that high for Easter 2021. This warm weather pattern is brought to us by a large area of calm weather over the Western US (this is as a ridge sits over us in the middle atmosphere, shown here). There isn't much of a change to that until middle parts of next week when we may see a trough try to break down our "heat dome." This is the middle atmosphere by Tuesday morning and shows a potenti
Denver Forecast
Windy ahead of cold front Monday evening, rain/snow and colder for Tuesday
Wind gusts an annoyance Monday prior to a cold front's arrival that will significantly drop temperatures and provide some areas of rain and snow for Tuesday. Take a look at the extent of the High Wind and Red Flag warnings in place across the central United States this afternoon! Our cold front is still a couple of hours out, but quickly approaching. A look at latest temperatures across the CONUS you can make out the front quite easily, with very mild (and windy) weather out ahead of the tempe
Denver Forecast
Rain and snow showers to continue through Friday evening, some thunder possible near Denver
As we watch the latest storm system pass over Colorado showers and thundershowers popped up around the Front Range Friday afternoon. As of 1 pm the radar view from Pueblo shows scattered showers from the Springs to Denver areas. Let's take a view of the forecast-radar product which indicates scattered showers across the Front Range through Saturday morning: It will be possible for lightning and thunder with this activity, too. If that is the case, that is an indication of having higher energy
Denver Forecast
Rain and snow showers possible through early Saturday for Denver, mountain snow Friday
As we watch the latest system swing through Colorado, we will receive rain and snow showers through early Saturday morning. For Denver and the urban corridor, hit and miss showers possible through early Saturday but the greatest chance arrives midday Friday through the evening. These showers are not expected to have a great deal of impact on the metro areas this time. This latest weather maker isn't overly strong but will still deliver some snowfall in the elevations and will cool the metro a
Denver Forecast
Snow chance climbs for Denver and metro areas, heavy snow for southern Colorado
Additional snow showers to move through the metro areas the next couple of days with some accumulation, however, the heaviest snowfall will be for southern Colorado. A look at the hourly timelines in Denver and Colorado Springs show an increase to the snow chances later Tuesday through Wednesday. Denver: Colorado Springs: Although in both cases we don't see a guarantee of snowfall. The chance of these showers will increase away from the city centers toward the higher elevations. Let's take
Snow
Additional snow chances ahead across the state, including Denver and Colorado Springs
Snow chances remain in the outlook for the next few days to add onto what is already a historically snowy March and early 2021. Our post earlier Monday has a rundown of how much snow we just received. Snowfall totals and a look ahead to the remainder of the week and next chance of snowWhile we will continue to see snow showers off and on today, the bulk of the accumulating snow from our most recent event has come to an end. Areas that see heavier showers today could see another 0.5″ to 1.5″ or
Snowfall Forecast
Snow reported from Fort Collins, Denver, to Colorado Springs: Forecast update Sunday PM
As we watch the radar picture fill in with color Sunday afternoon, folks from near Fort Collins to Boulder to Denver and Colorado Springs have seen rain and snow. This activity will increase through the evening into Monday morning with some spots to see one to two inch per hour snowfall rates. Monday morning drivers need to plan extra time into their commute. This post will serve as a follow-up to our morning post which outlined in detail the snowfall totals and timeline: Winter Storm Warnin
Drought
Weekend storm erased four to six months of precipitation deficit for Denver and Northern Colorado
The March 2003 snow came during a high drought and we saw drought numbers drop significantly after that event. The most recent storm delivered a lot of water to beat down the drought; about four to six months worth of deficit, it appears, was recovered. Blizzard of March 2021 will stand as 4th biggest snowfall on record for Denver, final update and snowfall totalsOne final update today on what will hit the record books as Denver’s fourth biggest snowfall. Denver International Airport ended up w
Colorado Snow
A look at rain and snow chances for Colorado the rest of the week before our significant storm hits this weekend
Before the state is hit with the significant storm system to provide impactful snowfall this weekend , we have chances of rain and snow before hand. Let's discuss the rest of the work week as you may have altered plans and are busier the next few days as a result. That's a quick animation, literally!, of the areas of rain and snow Wednesday evening through Friday even
Winter Storm
What has overnight data revealed about Colorado's weekend snowstorm: Wednesday update
Data is in from the overnight and morning and shows little change to our continued focus on a significant snowfall event this weekend for Northern Colorado (especially the foothills), Eastern Wyoming, and Nebraska. Let us take a moment to make one thing clear, we are focused on the weekend event in this post but there are snow and rain chances before we even get to the main storm; rain/snow chances increase now through Friday. If need be this will be addressed in a post later Wednesday that wil
Denver Forecast
Tuesday PM update: Chance of snow showers today, better chance tomorrow as temperatures slowly moderate
Even as temperatures have "warmed" into the 30s along the higher elevations of the Palmer Divide and areas mainly along and west of I-25, the cold clings on for the low-lying areas of the plains, as well as the high mountain valleys this afternoon. Below is a look at temperatures just before noon on Tuesday, showing pockets of warming, but still plenty of cold across the state today. We expect isolated to widely scattered snow showers to develop this afternoon and evening, with a Trace to 1/
Arctic Cold
Historic cold hits much of the country, top 5 coldest for parts of Colorado's plains
The coldest part of the pattern in Colorado was Monday morning, with a gradual warming trend expected as the coldest air shifts east. A few stats on this morning's cold follow. From the Colorado Climate Center : > The official low for Denver will stand at -16F for today. That's four degrees shy of the record low for this date of -20F set in 1881, but ties for 18th all time coldest February reading! #COwx [https://twitter.com/ha
Climate
Denver's winter temperature remains on track despite fewer extreme cold events
How can we measure cold snaps? Well, for this purpose let's look at winter average low temperatures and the number of days that cool to zero degrees or colder, and then we'll look at the coldest of the cold readings. To begin, let's just look at the Denver-averaged occurrence of low temperatures dropping to and below zero in our history. Denver "officially" uses this record known as 'Denver Area.' In that span, there is a decrease in the number of days that have dropped to and below zero. Denv