DENVER – Flash freezing remains a concern for motorists Friday evening across northeast Colorado as the arctic blast has started to roll into the state where dangerous wind chills will linger for several days.
“Snow and cold air are moving in Friday night and that means we could see freezing conditions on the roadways, especially ice for the metro area and the Front Range,” said Denver7 meteorologist Stacey Donaldson. “Heavy snow is going to show up late Friday into early Saturday and we’ll see a few inches of snow for the Front Range with wind chills as much as 30 degrees below zero as we head into the weekend.”
Even colder temperatures and wind chills are expected Monday and Tuesday of next week as a secondary shot of frigid weather pushes through Colorado.
The first-ever cold weather advisory was issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) in Boulder for the duration of the extreme cold for northeast, east central and north central Colorado including the I-25 corridor and Denver metro communities.
“The dangerously cold wind chills as low as 25 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes. The coldest conditions will be from late Sunday night through early Tuesday morning,” wrote NWS forecasters.
A winter weather advisory has also been issued for much of northern Colorado including the I-25 corridor from Fort Collins to Denver and Castle Rock where flash freezing on roadways could impact the later portion of the evening commute, according to the NWS.
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The Denver area is at risk for a flash freeze Friday — here's what that means
“Total snow accumulations between 3 and 7 inches – with locally up to 10 inches near the base of the foothills including Boulder. Lighter amounts of 1 to 3 inches around Greeley. Winds gusting as high as 30 mph east of I-25,” added the NWS.
While the main weather headline continues to be the Arctic temps, snow totals could likely reach 3 to 6 inches in the Denver metro area.
Overall, Colorado’s high country should expect to see snow totals from around 4 to 10 inches, 3 to 7 inches on the Front Range and 1 to 4 inches on the plains.
POTENTIAL COLORADO SNOW TOTALS
- Downtown Denver: 5”
- Byers: 3”
- Boulder: 8”
- Georgetown: 3”
- Castle Rock: 5”
- Winter Park: 6”
- Walden: 2”
- Lakewood: 8”
- Fort Collins: 3”
- Limon: 2”
- Sterling: Less than 1”
- Fort Morgan: 1”
- Breckenridge: 2”
- Vail Pass: 4”
- Greeley: 2”
- Colorado Springs: 4”
Wind chills will begin to fall below zero degrees in the Denver metro area starting Saturday morning.
“Temperatures will be around 9 degrees by early Saturday morning and we’ll see some off and on snow and that should taper off in the afternoon,” said Donaldson. “We’ll see more snow moving in during the evening hours on Saturday between around 5 and 8 o’clock with temperatures dropping below zero on Saturday night.”
Weather News
How to protect your pipes from this weekend’s sub-zero temperatures
UPDATED POTENTIAL WIND CHILLS IN COLORADO, DENVER METRO
Conditions will feel much colder after factoring in the winds. Below is the latest NWS wind chill forecast through next Wednesday.
While each community will experience the lowest wind chills at different times during each day, Denver7 has broken down the lowest wind chill by area expected on each day.
To view the wind chill chart in fullscreen mode, click this link.
Denver7 is helping you to protect your pipes from this weekend's sub-zero temperatures. The best advice is to let water drip from your faucets to reduce the chances of water freezing in your pipes.
Continue reading at this link for tips on what to do if your pipes become frozen during this Arctic blast.
Denver7 meteorologist Danielle Grant said the Denver metro area should expect to fall below freezing and remain there for up to 115 hours starting Friday evening. Temps will hopefully warm above freezing on Tuesday where a high of 34 degrees is expected. High temps in the Denver metro will stay in the low 30s from Tuesday through Thursday of next week.
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