Another Round of Snow Coming Tonight - and It's A Tricky One

Hi again.

There's a chance for snow again tonight. This will be very similar to the setup on Monday when it started snowing around 4 and continued through about midnight.

Quick recap: Denver has officially received 10.8" of snow at the reporting station. You and I both agree that there was most likely more than that in many of the Western Suburbs. Like Lakewood, they have gotten 14.7" of snow this month and evergreen, in the Foothills, have received 25" of snow! Boulder has seen 17.7" of snow this month already. So, yeah, it's been snowy.

Denver on a snowy afternoon

The Setup

So, this is actually a tricky forecast. Models aren't showing much for the area in terms of widespread snow but the conditions are favorable for a widespread few inches to a lot of inches. 

We have a weak disturbance riding down along the Jet Stream. This will provide some of the forcing needed to get some snow showers going. Ahead of that, a cold front will move through. This will bring winds that will push against the mountains from the east. This will provide the upslope component of our storm today. 

On top of that, literally, way up in the Jet Stream, there's a localized area of very fast winds, known as a Jet Streak, that will provide additional development of snow. So, combining all of this into a forecast, we come out with quite a span of possibilities. 

The Details

With snow starting to fly around 1-4 pm for the Foothills and Palmer Ridge, and snow starting around 3-6 pm for the Denver metro, there's the possibility of a slower commute this evening. Roads should mostly remain wet until sunset. That's when the snow will begin to stick more widespread to the roadways. 

Snow will be pretty consistent and light through the evening and first half of tonight but there will be varying intensities. Most areas around the Denver metro will get between 1-5 inches of snow. The higher amounts will be seen in the western and southern suburbs. Those along the foothills of Boulder and Jefferson counties will see more like 3-7" of snow. A Winter Weather Advisory is in place through 11pm Wednesday.

WWA in place through 11pm Wednesday 

Since we have enough moisture and a couple of different forcing mechanisms in place to produce more snow, there will be some convective nature to these snow showers. Think of summertime convection, it creates local areas of thunderstorms and heavy rain. We could have something similar to that tonight with the snow showers. There could be local very heavy snow showers that develop. This will increase snow totals for some. It's possible that the Denver metro ends up with 3-6" of snow and some areas along with the foothills exceed 10" of snow. But there is also the possibility that those kinds of totals won't happen. 

Bottom Line 

Prepare for another round of snow this evening in Denver and the surrounding areas. You'll likely have a slow Thursday morning commute. This will make sideroads even worse and will make the snow last just that much longer. 

Tell Me There's More Snow Coming...or Don't 

Sorry bout it. There are a few more chances of snow but you knew this. The main high light since the beginning of the month was that we were headed into a more active pattern. Unfortunately, it still doesn't make it easier to deal with snow falling 7 out of 12 days. 

Snow chances through the next week. 

There are some minor chances of snow between now and Saturday, excluding the one that I've been mentioning, and then there are signs of a more potent storm coming possibly by Sunday, possibly by Tuesday. The models haven't latched on to anything substantial, so, for now, don't worry about it. 

Temperatures will stay below average over the next ten days more than likely. 

Temperatures over the next ten days. Red line is our average high. Blue line is our average low. 

Enjoy the snowy pattern! I, for one, am loving it. The snow is fantastic and summer is coming way too quick so I am enjoying it while I can. How do you feel about the snow so far this February?

~Rain or shine

  I'm Andy Stein