Get ready metro Denver: A late-season storm will produce freezing temperatures and bring 3 to 6 inches of heavy, wet snow to metro Denver — enough to damage leafed-out trees.
The storm moving through the northern and central Rockies will be the first decent snow since mid-March. Before it arrives, though, Denver will see temperatures approaching 90 degrees on Thursday afternoon — the record high is 92 — and wind.
As the system nears, it will drop a strong cold front across the area, sending temperatures into the low 40s, possibly even the upper 30s, for the Denver area by Friday morning.
Behind this cold front, is a classic upslope snow event for our area. By Friday morning, snow will be falling for those above 7,000 feet. Those in the lower elevations of the Interstate 25 corridor will get a cold rain during the morning with widespread precipitation falling from Fort Collins to Castle Rock by noon.
A secondary push of colder air and energy should move through the metro area Friday afternoon helping drop snow levels down to 5,000 feet, or low enough for snow to fall in downtown Denver.
Everyone will see snow by Friday afternoon into the early evening that will last until Saturday morning. Some weather models suggest snow will continue through much of the day Saturday leading to a very cold Saturday with temperatures in the 20s and 30s.
Accompanying this upslope flow will be jet stream enhancement. The jet stream is likely to park itself over Colorado and that will enhance any snow that has formed, leading to high snowfall rates across the mountains, foothills and adjacent plains.
Additionally, it is late May and the atmosphere is much more energetic than it is during the core winter months. We could be looking at some convective snow as the atmosphere will be pretty unstable. Usually, we talk about instability and convection with thunderstorms, but this go around, we’re talking about further enhancement of snowfall rates.
Also, this means that thundersnow is possible.
This will be a cold storm and temperatures both Saturday and Sunday morning are expected to dip into the 20s around Denver with higher elevations getting colder than that.
The snow will be a heavy, wet snow that will stick to elevated surfaces easily — like trees. It only takes 3 to 4 inches of snow to problems for trees with leaves on them so damage will be a concern above 6,500 feet and possibly at lower elevations.
Snow totals
Snow totals will vary greatly based on elevation, but here’s what is expected from Friday to Saturday.
Areas from Rocky Mountain National Park to Bailey can expect well over a foot of snow and possibly closer to 2 feet.
Along the I-25 corridor, we’re looking at 3 to 6 inches of snow from Fort Collins to Denver to Colorado Springs. Palmer Divide near Castle Rock and Monument is expected to get at least a foot of snow with as much as 18 inches falling.
The outlook for the storm has been trending colder and stronger. That won’t have much impact on higher elevations but it could affect the metro area from Denver to Fort Collins to Boulder with 9 to 15 inches of snow possible. Colorado Springs could also approach double-digit totals if this storm strengthens.
There is an upside to all the snow because it should also be wet, bringing 1 to 2 inches of liquid, nearly 10% of our annual moisture in Denver.
