Andy's Weather

After a beautiful weekend with sunshine and warm temperatures, it’s nice to be going back to actual January weather with some cool air and snow in the forecast. Then again the warmth and sun are nice too but we’ve had plenty of that this winter.

There are two cold fronts expected to move through Denver and eastern Colorado this week. The first could bring a wintry mix of precipitation to the metro which is a tad unusual for our area this time of the year. The second will bring a better chance for all snow but will still overall produce light snow totals.

💧🥶❄️ Freezing drizzle is a possibility Wednesday.

This is something we don't deal with very often so drive extra safe Wednesday and don't underestimate what ice can do.

Most of the day Wednesday will be a cloudy, drizzly, day with flurries. Not a fun day at all. #Denver pic.twitter.com/64NhE0BEjf

— ❄️ Rain or ☀️ Shine I’m Andy Stein (@AndySteinWx) January 18, 2022

Winter weather advisories, mainly for freezing drizzle, are posted through Wednesday evening. A cold front is racing down from Montana and will start to bring cooler temperatures and shallow clouds and almost foggy weather to the Plains, including Denver starting overnight.

Wednesday morning is expected to be a dreary day with low clouds and freezing drizzle (see freezing rain below). Although temperatures on Wednesday are supposed to stay below freezing, the air within a couple of thousands of feet above us will be slightly warmer. What that means is that water droplets in the clouds will stay as water until they hit the ground. Once the water droplets hit the ground i.e your car, sidewalks and roads, it will instantly freeze into ice.

The forecast only calls for up to a tenth of an inch of ice to form but that is plenty to cause issues. On top of this, light snow is expected to be mixing with the freezing rain creating even slipperier conditions. All snow, light snow, is expected in the afternoon before we dry out Wednesday night.

Wednesday all day could be slick in and around town so be careful. Leave plenty of space between you and the car in front of you and be careful as you even walk out on the sidewalks and driveways – those can get very slick in these conditions.

For those wanting more winter weather, you’re in luck. Another round of snow (just snow this time) is looking possible for Friday when another cold front moves through. That could bring some light snow accumulations against.

More details on that to come but for now, get your ice scraper out and prepare for a not-so-nice weather day on Wednesday.