Pre-Christmas winter storm comes to an end
Thursday, December 24th, 2009 4:14am MDT
Thornton snow near Eastlake Reservoir, Christmas Eve 2009. (ThorntonWeather.com) Click on the picture to view our slideshow of more photos from the recent weather.
While certainly not one of the biggest storms in Denver weather history, the snowstorm that the Mile High City received yesterday is more than enough to ensure a white Christmas. Cold temperatures will linger for a few days but the holiday weather outside shouldn’t be too frightful.
Snow has pretty much tapered off across the Front Range with snow totals ranging from 5 to 10 inches. Here at ThorntonWeather.com we recorded 6.5 inches although it is pretty hard to get an accurate measure with the way the wind blew last night. The slideshow below has some great pictures of the snow. As the storm moves out and to the east it is certain to cause plenty of problems across the plains and the Midwest.
For Christmas Eve, some light snow flurries will continue off and on through dawn and by then we will be left with mostly sunny Colorado skies. Temperatures will be quite cold as we are only looking at a high temperature in the low-20’s. With even a light breeze wind chill temperatures will dip below zero so bundle up as you brave the crowds for that last minute gift shopping.
We’ll see a slight chance for some light, overnight snow tonight through tomorrow but it won’t amount to much more than flurries. Low temperatures tonight will be into the single digits and wind chills could push as low as -10 degrees. That of course isn’t all that extraordinary and Santa Claus should have absolutely no weather problems when he arrives in Colorado tonight.
For Christmas Day, we remain in a bit of an ice box with temperatures similar to today. Winds will be picking up though and wind chill temperatures will be into the single digits. The wind will also create some problems in open areas causing blowing and drifting snow. As you make your way to your holiday celebrations you will want to be a bit careful.
As the weekend arrives, we see a return of the sun and we begin to gradually warm up. Temperatures will remain cool and below what we normally expect to see this time of year but it will be dry. Be sure to check our forecast page for the latest weather outlook.
