DENVER — After an extended period of unseasonable warm temps over the past several weeks in Colorado, a winter blast will soon arrive bringing the first real chance of snow in the Denver area this weekend and potentially hazardous travel conditions in the mountains.
On Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service in Boulder said a winter storm warning will go into effect Friday night at midnight through Noon Sunday for Colorado's north-central mountains.
Areas in Colorado that will go under the winter storm warning include Winter Pass, Berthoud Pass, Willow Creek Pass, Rocky Mountain National Park, Breckenridge, Kenosha Mountains, and Eisenhower Tunnel, among other communities.
In the watch area, the NWS said between 8 and 18 inches of snow is possible with isolated amounts up to 24 inches possible.
You can check the latest winter weather alerts here.
Before this weekend’s storm arrives, snow showers are possible in the northern mountains Thursday with up to 5 inches possible in the higher elevations in the Park and Gore mountain ranges, according to the National Weather Service in Boulder.
After the fog diminishes in the metro area Thursday, a slight chance of rain will remain through the evening hours in Denver and across the northeast plains.
Friday’s afternoon high temperature in Denver should reach 52 degrees with partly cloudy conditions before the big storm system sweeps through Colorado and temperatures plunge for the weekend.
Precipitation amounts and snow totals are starting to come into focus and it is likely accumulating snow will fall in the urban corridor and plains starting Saturday.
“Here in town, early Saturday, we may be waking up to some light snow on the ground, we’ll see our first little wave looks like early in the morning and then some heavier snow is expected,” said Denver7 morning meteorologist Lisa Hidalgo.
Potential Colorado snow totals, timeline
More accumulations are predicted during the day on Saturday and into Sunday with much of Colorado’s plains possibly seeing between 1 to 3 inches of snowfall, the NWS said, also warning some localized areas could see up to 6 inches, depending on the storm track and timing.
“That snow continues into Sunday morning and into the afternoon even as we’re beginning the Broncos game, we’ll have some light snow and very cold conditions,” said Denver7 meteorologist Stacey Donaldson.
Again, snow totals are uncertain with this storm but Donaldson said 2 to 6 inches are possible for some areas along the Front Range.
In it's latest briefing report Thursday afternoon, the NWS said in the Denver metro area there is 24 percent chance of snow totals reaching 6 inches or more. For Boulder, there is a 51 percent chance of seeing 6 inches or more of snow, but at this point there is low confidence in potential snowfall amounts.
If you're looking to dig deeper into more possible localized amounts, the NWS provided this chart which shows the potential snow amounts for specific Colorado communities through the duration of the upcoming storm. It also breaks down the percentage chances of seeing different snow totals. Click here to see it in full on the NWS website and be sure to select the 'probabilistic snowfall forecasts' tab.
By the time the storm rolls through, some higher elevations in the mountains could see up to a foot of snow and it is likely winter storm warnings could be issued by the NWS with winter weather advisories possible for the metro area and plains, the weather agency said.
Along with the snowfall, expect a hard freeze for much of Colorado and the Denver area Sunday and Monday as morning lows will drop into upper teens.
In anticipation of the below freezing temperatures, the city of Denver will activate its cold weather shelter plan. Derek Woodbury, Spokesperson for the Denver’s Department of Housing Stability told Denver7 the city typically turns to emergency shelters like the Lawrence Street Community Center and Samaritan house for immediate help.
A spokesperson for Denver Rescue Mission, which runs the Lawrence Street Community Center said they only have 85 of the 475 beds available going into this weekend.
Two sites the city of Denver will also use when cold weather thresholds are met include the Best Western Hotel near 44th Avenue and Quebec Street and a second hotel the city was working to acquire, Denver7 reported earlier this month.
100 beds would be placed inside the Best Western’s ballroom and 300 beds in the second hotel.
With winter weather expected in the mountains, it is likely Colorado’s passenger vehicle traction and chain laws will go into effect which requires motorists to have four-wheel drive, all-wheel drive or chains, along with other approved devices, which you can see here.
Ahead of this storm system, you can download Denver7's redesigned mobile app for live radar, road closures, the latest forecast and we'll send push alerts to update you as conditions change.
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