Andy's Weather

The winter that just keeps wintering, will keep wintering for at least the next couple of weeks. The pattern looks active and that means more cool weather and snow chances for Colorado. For those in the mountains (and those concerned with snowpack), that means tough driving more times than not but also, some great skiing and riding conditions will continue.

If you enjoy this weather content, continue reading all the way to the bottom for more. Here’s the forecast for this midweek storm! As always, follow me on social for more.

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We’re going to have several chances for snow along the Urban Corridor over the next couple of weeks. None of the storms currently look to be too impressive but we are moving into the time of the year where things sometimes come together a bit more last minute. Best to stay even more on top of the forecast as we head into Spring. The mountains, however, will be doing great with multiple storms and refreshes more than twice a week.

We’re coming out of our third La Niña winter and there aren’t many analog years to compare this one too but I would’ve put a small bet down that it would’ve meant that we would’ve had a drier and warmer winter than normal. It has most definitely been cooler and wetter than normal and that looks to continue. As we head into summer and next winter, it looks like El Niño will be more apparent.

We’ll turn more neutral than before we go full on La Niña but the change looks to be coming. La Niña is notorious for bringing Colorado wetter conditions… so be on the look out for some summer and year-end projections in the coming weeks.

Okay, sorry – back to the forecast. The monthly outlook for March just dropped and it’s looking cooler and wetter than normal across most of the state save the SE corner.

So, brace yourselves mentally for that if you’re not a fan of this kind of weather! The first half of March is almost secured to come in cool and snowy.

Our first of a series of storms is already underway in the high country. Yes it’ll bring more wind with it. It’s been a windy few days but considering the winter as a whole, it hasn’t been the windiest season.

Here’s a look at the current winter alerts in place across Colorado.

This will be a storm for the mountains mostly with 4-8″ likely for the Central and Northern mountains. The San Juans should see another great storm with 1-2 feet likely. Another storm moves through at the end of the week bringing another round of snow to the mountains.

If we zoom out, you’ll see the broad stretch of winter alerts in place.

The Sierra Nevada in California are in the middle of a full-blown blizzard and that’s what’s on the way to us. Speaking of this, remember in December and January when the west was hit by a series of Atmospheric Rivers (AR)? It looks like something similar may be setting up. With AR’s, clearly the coastal ranges capture a lot of the moisture that gets spewed inland but that doesn’t mean we don’t get anything. Colorado’s mountains are huge and can grab a lot of moisture even sitting several states inland from the ocean.

This is the reason why I believe we’ll have an active weather pattern for the next couple of weeks. Again, this will come in waves so it won’t all happen at one which is a good thing. It’ll be spread out and keep our snowpack in great shape. The issue that may rise from these AR events is that they are looking rather warm. That won’t impact Colorado too much but California could be looking at some wild flooding potential. With an growing snowpack there, warm ARs may rise snow levels to 5 or 6,000′ which would mean rain would fall on 10+ feet of snow.. something to watch.

Again, back to Colorado. The I-25 corridor shouldn’t expect too much snow from this incoming system which will bring impacts Wednesday evening. Thursday midday is when the first storm will move out and Friday morning is when the next one moves in.

Each system looks rather weak and due to the location and track of the storms, more snow will fall in Southern Colorado than anywhere. Here’s a look at the forecast between now and Friday for snowfall.

Overall, just about everyone in the state should see snow this week but it’s depends on where you are for how much you’ll get. I’m pretty confident with this forecast, however, I am watching the Friday storm more closely because if that storms inches northward, those high totals on the southern Plains may also move north. It won’t be a very impactful storm for the Plains but travel could become slick at times.

Here’s the NWS forecast for the first storm now through Thursday night/Friday morning.

Because of this snow, avalanche conditions will be high. Back country uses should use caution when exploring the mountains.

Another weather event were watching for today (Tuesday) is high fire danger and gusty winds on the southern Plains.

Don’t do any burning today. Even with the wetness as of late, the brush is still dead and dry.

A quick check of snowpack shows most areas doing just fine sub the Sangre de Cristos and Wet Mountains but they’ll be getting in on the action in the coming weeks so a surge there seems likely.

A few of our basins have actually already reached their average peak snowpack a couple of weeks ahead of schedule! With more snow coming, we’re looking at having a pretty solid water year here.

Here’s a look at Denver’s temp forecast. Cooler than normal temps through the remainder of the week with another rebound into the 50s for the end of the weekend.

Enjoy the weather y’all!

~Andy