Time to get outside this weekend!  The forecast looks absolutely beautiful with a high of 76 expected on Saturday and 72 on Sunday.  This is why we all love Colorado. 

Southern parts of the state and much of the western slope do currently have Red Flag Warnings or Fire Weather Watches posted.  As we saw earlier this week with the fires near Ordway and Fort Carson, conditions are ripe in some places of the state for dangerous wildfires.  A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or are imminent. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures will create explosive fire growth potential.  One has not been issued for northeastern Colorado – yet.  Indications are we could find ourselves under one on Sunday if conditions persist. 

One last note…  If you are interested, there are still opportunities to attend the National Weather Service storm spotter training.  There will be two sessions in Commerce City on April 30th and a few others around the metro are in the next couple of weeks.  Click here to see the schedule.  These are great sessions for anyone interested in wanting to learn more about our severe weather.  You can read more about the spotter program here.

Springtime in Colorado!  Tuesday the official high in Denver hit 82 degrees, just two degrees shy of the record for that date.  At ThorntonWeather.com we were a bit warmer with a high of 85.1 degrees.  Now, 24 hours later, we are preparing for a pretty decent snowstorm.  What fun! 

We’ll reach a high of 50 on Wednesday but it will be shortlived as an upper level cold front moves across the state.  After noon we will start to see a rain and snow mix fall across the Front Range which will turn to entirely snow tonight.  2 – 4 inches of the white stuff can be expected in the metro area although much of that will melt quickly with as warm as the ground is.  Thornton can expect to be at the lower range of that spectrum as the worst of this storm will hit the southern Front Range.  The Palmer Divide and parts of Douglas, Elbert and Park Counties are under a Winter Storm Watch as they are expected to be hit a bit hard with this storm. 

The good news is that this cold front should bring some relief to those fighting the wildfires in the southern part of the state.  However, ahead of the front strong winds are blowing which will cause more grief until some precipitation starts falling and humidities climb.  Much of the southern part of the state is under a Red Flag Warning through 6:00pm Wednesday. 

You have to love Colorado weather!  Monday we had our warmest day of the year with a high of 76.1 degrees.  It was absolutely beautiful.  Today we most likely will top that by a little bit but unfortunately there will also be wind as a cold front starts to move into the area.  Look for high temps today similar to yesterday. 

Looking farther ahead, Wednesday will bring changes as an upper level low moves into the state.  The southern Front Range foothills and Palmer Divide area could see three inches of snow.  Further north in the metro area and Thornton we could see scattered rain and snow showers but nothing that will accumulate.  Thursday we return to seasonal temperatures while the weekend is looking to be beautiful again with highs around 70. 

Website note:  Some of you may have noticed our conditions and statistics not updating yesterday starting around 11:30am.  We apologize for the problem but our DSL line was down.  Qwest of course couldn’t explain why but it miraculously started working again last night.  While our website is connected directly to the Internet and stayed up and running, we need the DSL line to update the site with the information from our weather sensors.  We apologize for the downtime. 

Updated Monday, 3/17, 9:50am – The National Weather Service has cancelled the Heavy Snow Warning for the Denver metro area.  Light snow early this morning should come to an end in most areas by late this morning and little additional snow accumulation is anticipated.  We should see gradual warming with dry and seasonal temperatures at least until Friday. 

Updated Monday, 3/17, 6:00am, Heavy Snow Warning Remains in Effect – Well, thus far the storm hasn’t quite shaped up as it was expected to, at least in the Denver metro area.  The one component that is really missing for heavy snowfall is a good, strong upslope wind.  Upslope winds have a northeasterly / easterly component and are what typically is required for us to see big snows and that just hasn’t happened – at least not enough of one.  Things started out strong yesterday evening with some good snow falling around 8:00pm but it didn’t last long.

Western Kansas on the other hand appears to be bearing the brunt of the storm with a mix of blowing snow and thunderstorms.  Indeed, our lightning detector was picking up a number of strikes out there during the 5:00am hour although that has since dissipated.

Looking at the rest of today, we do still remain under a Heavy Snow Warning until 3:00pm although if things don’t change, that could be lifted sooner.  Radar does show moisture coming up from the south of the metro area and forecasts still call for an additional 3 to 5 inches possible this morning.  However, with the temperatures staying near freezing, much of that will melt rather than accumulate. 

Updated 3/16, 5:15pm – It is looking more and more like this storm will be a reality.  The National Weather Service has upgraded the advisory to a Heavy Snow Warning that goes into effect at midnight tonight and runs through 3:00pm tomorrow.  Current projections are still a bit flakey and show that we will receive anywhere from 4 to 12 inches of snow by the time the storm moves out tomorrow afternoon.  As is typical in Colorado and especially with spring storms, we could even see sunshine by the end of the day tomorrow.

A heavy snow warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Significant amounts of snow are forecast that will make travel dangerous if not impossible. Only travel in an emergency. If you must…keep an extra flashlight…food…and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency.

3/16/08, 4:27am, Snow Last Night, Heavy Snow Warning In Effect For Tonight – Thornton woke up to a bit of a surprise this morning with some of the white stuff on the ground – just shy of half an inch at ThorntonWeather.com.  The forecast did say there was a chance but it was pretty slim so it wasn’t really expected.  It is a typical spring snow with lots of good moisture in it so it is welcome.  We should be mostly dry for most of the daylight hours today but the structure of the system is such that some thunder could be heard today – a bit of a herald of the spring thunderstorms that will be coming soon.  Heading into late afternoon and this evening things will change. 

The Pacific storm we have been waiting for is on its way and the National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watchthat goes into effect late tonight and runs through Monday morning.  The track of this system is still a bit uncertain so the forecasts and models are hedging their bets a bit.  🙂   Current models are across the board for precipitation totals and locations so it is tough to say what we are going to end up with.  At the current time we would expect Thornton to see 3 to 7 inches of snow by the time the storm moves out tomorrow. 

Remember that a Winter Storm Watch means there is a potential for a hazardous winter event in and close to our area.  Significant snow accumulations may occur that could impact travel.  Tomorrow morning’s commute could be a bit ugly so plan on leaving for work early. 

Colorado in the spring!  Quite an array of weather across the state ahead for the coming days.  The northern and central mountains are getting pounded with snow where Winter Storm Warnings are in effect through Friday night.  One to two feet of snow is expected up there as our record snowpack continues to build.

On the Front Range, while the statewide snowpack is still well above-average, Denver is about 5 inches behind for the seasonal winter average and about 9 inches below the monthly average.  However, we have a pretty active weather pattern expected for the next week that could eat away at that deficit.  March is usually our snowiest month so the potential is there for some good storms in the coming weeks. 

Scattered rain and snow showers are possible throughout today and this weekend.  The big storm we were hoping to see Sunday night and into Monday looks to be pushing south into New Mexico but will cause us to be a bit unsettled through Tuesday at least.  Stay tuned to ThorntonWeather.com for the latest!