DENVER — An epic, slow-moving, 5-day November snowstorm will likely go down in Colorado's weather record books when it's finished this weekend.
It is worth noting that November snow is not out of the ordinary in Colorado. In fact, this was actually a late first measurable snow for Denver, which usually happens in mid-October.
But because of the prolonged nature of this storm, it will likely be the largest the Denver metro has seen in November in nearly 30 years. The last major November storm was a two-day event on November 13-14, 1994. Officially 12.1 inches of snowfall stacked up at Stapleton Airport with 16.9 inches of snow overall that month.
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Coming off of the second warmest October on record in Denver, this long duration winter storm is certainly a shock to the system! When it's all said and done, Denver will see 5 days straight of measurable snowfall with this storm. The last time we saw this type of long duration November storm was back in 1991. From November 14 through November 19, the city picked up 21.2 inches of snow.
As this storm dropped south from the Pacific Northwest Monday, it became a cut-off area of low pressure. What does that mean? It became dismantled from the jet stream, so it's on its own agenda so to speak. It can sit and spin and slowly meander around the region. Now that it's sitting in northern New Mexico, it's positioned perfectly (with the assistance of moisture from the Gulf) to deliver huge snowfall totals to parts of the Front Range and plains.
First, let's rewind
The first round of snow started flying around 5 p.m. on Election night and didn't stop until midday Thursday. Denver International Airport saw 38 out of 48 hours of nearly consecutive snowfall. And we're not done yet! The next round of heavy (and steady) snow rolls in Friday morning and lasts through midday Saturday.
As of late Thursday night, the airport had stacked up 8.4 inches of snow, the first official of the season. This is just a taste of what's to come. We could easily double that amount by Saturday!
The most impressive snowfall totals have been in Lincoln, Elbert and Washington counties where between 10 and 20 inches of snow has already fallen Thursday night. As the closed low inches northeast throughout the day on Friday, it'll allow more snowfall to stack up in that area especially along the Palmer Divide.
A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for the Denver metro and southeastern suburbs along with the Eastern Plains from 5am Friday to noon Saturday. The biggest totals will be along Interstate 70 near Limon, Hugo, Agate, Punkin Center and Karval with an additional 12 to 20 inches of new snow by Saturday.
The immediate Denver metro is expected to see another 6 to 12 inches of new snow. Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch, Kiowa, Parker and Elizabeth are in for an additional 7 to 14 inches of new snow. Fort Collins and Greeley will see very light snowfall accumulations from this storm.
Now, let's look ahead
So, what does the massive early-November storm mean for the winter ahead? Can we expect a heavy snow season?
We took that question to Greg Heavener, a warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Boulder. He told us it's hard to predict.
It will depend on the length of the La Niña conditions forecasters are expecting for this winter, Heavener said. During a La Niña event, the jetstream is pushed to the north and can leave much of Colorado with below-average snowfall.
But a brief La Niña could mean more snow for Colorado.
"If only a few weeks of the La Niña, then we could see repeated rounds of this really, really cold air coming in from the north, combining with moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to give us these winter storms," Heavener said.
So, the jury is still out on whether we'll see more snowstorms like we have in this first week of November. In the meantime, bundle up, enjoy the snow days and avoid the roads if you can!
The great melt begins Sunday!!
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