Winter storm arrives in Thornton, snow expected throughout the day

Old Man Winter arrives in Thornton.  December 23, 2009.  View more images from the weather in the slideshow by clicking on the picture. Image courtesy Shannon Vermilye.
Old Man Winter arrives in Thornton. December 23, 2009. Image courtesy Shannon Vermilye. Click on the picture to view our slideshow of more photos of the weather.

Update, 1:45pm – A white Christmas with snow the ground is an obvious certainty at this point. Most areas around the Denver metro area have received from 3 to 4 inches of snow with higher amounts in the foothills and in Larimer and Weld counties.

The snow continues to fall and will do so throughout the afternoon although we may see a bit of a lull for a short while. Metro area freeways are mainly wet at this point but that could change this evening and tonight when temperatures start to drop.

This evening we will see the winds pick up setting up the potentially for blowing snow conditions that will cause some problems on the roads. Another round of heavier snow is expected to begin this evening and through tonight leading to additional accumulations of 1 to 3 inches. The snow will taper off in the early morning tomorrow and we will end the storm in the neighborhood of 4 to 8 inches total snow accumulation.

A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for the Front Range extending north beyond the Wyoming border and northeast and east to the Fort Morgan and Limon areas. Further east on the plains a Winter Storm Warning is in effect along the I-70 and I-76 corridors. Travel is likely to become hazardous through Nebraska and Kansas tonight.

Temperatures are the other major part of this storm system. High temperatures will remain quite cold and well below seasonal normals. Overnight lows for the next few nights will dip into the single digits.

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Original story, 8:25am – Old Man Winter was a couple days late but he has arrived in the Mile High City overnight. As expected he has brought with him plenty of cold and a bit of snow just in time to give Denver a white Christmas.

Overnight last night most areas across the metro area reported 1 to 2 inches of snow. Areas to the north like Greeley and Fort Collins have received a bit more in the neighborhood of 3 to 5 inches thanks to a decent snow band moving through those areas.

That snow band to the north will begin to move to the south and arrive over Denver this morning increasing our snow totals. We are expecting 1 to 3 inches additional daytime accumulation today and another 1 to 3 overnight Wednesday. This puts us on target for snow totals for the event of 3 to 8 inches.

Temperatures will remain very cold today with the high only reaching the mid 20’s. Tonight winds will pick up and blowing snow could become problematic, particularly in areas east of I-25. Overnight lows will plummet into the single digits.

A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for the Front Range and mountain areas east of the Continental Divide. When the winds pick up this evening they will lead to blowing and drifting snow and likely impact road travel so caution is advised.

Thursday temperatures remain cold and in the teens. We won’t see much more accumulation but windy conditions will cause what snow has already fallen to blow around, particularly in open areas.

Christmas Day we will see a return of some sun but temperatures remain in the low 20’s. Some of the latest models did introduce a slight chance for flurries so we will keep an eye on that.

Beyond the holiday, warming will gradually continue and the general weather pattern will be dry. Temperatures though are expected to remain a bit chilly and below seasonal norms.

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