Tag: 9news weather

DENVER — Anyone taking in Colorado’s outdoors on Saturday are urged to use caution and avoid burning anything as a red flag warning goes into effect.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Boulder said the red flag warning will go into effect starting at 10 a.m. through 7 p.m. Saturday for a large portion of Colorado’s Front Range and eastern plains.

“Unfortunately fire danger is going to be a lot higher tomorrow,” said Denver7 Morning Meteorologist Lisa Hidalgo.

The combination of strong winds, blowing from the southwest with gusts up to 45 mph plus low humidity will create conditions for “extreme fire behavior,” said the NWS in its alert.

The Denver metro is also included in the warning as is the following counties, according to the NWS:

• North Douglas County below 6,000 feet
• Denver, west Adams and Arapahoe Counties
• East Broomfield County
• Elbert County
• Central and east Douglas Counties above 6,000 feet
• Northeast Weld, Central and south Weld County
• Morgan County
• Central and northeast Elbert County below 6,000 feet
• North Lincoln County
• Washington county

NWS Boulder

In addition to Saturday’s weather alert, a red flag warning remains in effect for southern Lincoln County until 6 p.m. Friday.

The warnings come on the heels of a strong storm system that will dump large amounts of snow across the western portion of the United States and bring up to 15 inches of snow to areas in Colorado’s high country this weekend through Monday morning.

“It’s going to lose a little steam as it gets closer to the state,” added Hidalgo. “Likely looking at some of our heaviest snow right in through the northern and also down through the southwestern mountains, we’ve got a number of watches going into effect for quite a few counties.”

A winter storm watch goes into effect Saturday through Monday morning or heavy snow in Colorado’s mountain communities including in Rabbit Ears Pass, Rocky Mountain National Park, Medicine Bow Range, Mountains of Summit County, among other areas.

The NWS warned accumulations between 6 and 18 inches is possible with wind gusts up to 75 mph.

Slick travel conditions can be expected through the mountains, with limited visibility possible due to blowing snow, said the NWS.

For the Denver metro area, Saturday’s weather should remain warm with windy conditions. The high temperature in Denver on Saturday is expected to be close to 70 degrees. On Sunday, expect slight cooler temps in Denver with a high of 55 degrees and the potential for showers.

Although Colorado’s mountains can expect snow, Hidalgo said Denver and the eastern plains could see periods of light rain and snow mix starting Sunday through Monday.

As the calendar rolls into March, the winter blasts in February have helped the Denver metro area get a little closer to normal snowfall totals for the season.

The 13.7 inches of snow recorded at Denver International Airport boosted the cumulative total for the year at 29.1 inches, which lags behind the 34.9 inches normally seen at this point in the season.

To view the Denver snowfall statistics infographics in fullscreen mode click this link.

DENVER WEATHER LINKS: Hourly forecast | Radars | Traffic | Weather Page | 24/7 Weather Stream

Click here to watch the Denver7 live weather stream.

DENVER — The snow is tapering off along the Front Range but will continue into the evening hours for the Eastern Plains. The wet roads are expected to freeze this evening as road temperatures drop.

Saturday brought several inches of snow along the Front Range. The entire Denver metro area remains under a winter weather advisory.

Denver’s snow gauge out at DIA has reported 2.2 inches over the past 24 hours, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Boulder. But the brunt of the storm was seen in Weld County, where more than a foot of snow fell in the Greeley area Saturday.

Communities along the I-25 corridor, the Front Range stretching up to Fort Collins and portions of northeast Colorado are under the winter weather advisory until 11 p.m. Saturday for “additional snow accumulations up to 4 inches, with the heaviest snow falling across the southern Foothills and Denver metro,” said the NWS early Saturday morning.

Aurora, Golden, Boulder, Brighton, Lakewood, Loveland, Parker, Littleton, Arvada, among other areas are included in the winter weather advisory.

The NWS warned to watch out for the potential of slick spots on roads.

“By midday, expect wet roads with snow and cold conditions. By later in the day, slushy and sick in some of the Foothills locations and the mountains with snow showers continuing on the plains,” said Denver7 Chief Meteorologist Mike Nelson.

The good news: This weekend’s Denver snow storm is not a repeat of last Saturday’s heavy snow soaker.

“The low is too far to the south and weakening and too far to the south to be a huge storm,” added Nelson. “In the 2 to 4 inch range of snowfall for the Denver metro area, not a lot is coming for the mountains.”

Weather News

Colorado alpenglow: Here’s what makes some mountain sunrises, sunsets so magical

1:42 PM, Feb 06, 2024

The NWS did add a winter storm warning to Colorado’s weather alert map for portions of Weld County, where heavy snow was possible with 1 to 5 inches of additional snow accumulation possible.

Eaton, Briggsdale, Grover, Fort Lupton and Greeley were included in the winter storm warning in effect until 11 p.m. Saturday.

“By this afternoon, snow should redevelop across most of the metro and portions of the plains as deeper moisture makes a brief return,” said the NWS in its weather discussion.

Those additional Colorado snow totals will help boost the seasonal cumulative average closer to normal in Denver.

The metro’s snow gauge stands at 14 inches behind the normal cumulative total heading into February.

At Denver International Airport, Denver’s official weather reporting station, 20.9 inches of snow has fallen this year compared to the normal of 34.9 inches.

To view the above Denver snowfall statistics infographics in fullscreen mode click this link.

Saturday evening forecast

More Denver metro weather, Colorado snow totals from the NWS:

• Greely: 13.5”
• Eaton: 8”
• Wheat Ridge: 6”
• Evans: 5.5”
• Genesee: 5.2”
• Arvada: 4”
• Thornton: 3.4”
• DIA: 2.2”
• Leadville: 1.2”
• Poudre Park: 1”
• Louisville: 0.4”
• Boulder: 0.2”

You can check the NWS Colorado snow totals map showing accumulations over the last 24 hours.

The system quickly pushes through the state and by Sunday, conditions clear out but it will remain cold.

Milder weather awaits for the beginning of the week with Denver’s temperature warming to 43 degrees on Monday. Day by day, afternoon high temps increase reaching the low 50s by Wednesday with Denver’s next snow chance arriving Friday.

“No big storms next week,” said Nelson.

Denver7

DENVER WEATHER LINKS: Hourly forecast | Radars | Traffic | Weather Page | 24/7 Weather Stream

Click here to watch the Denver7 live weather stream.