Temperature at the National Center for Research Winter Weather Test Site in Marshall, Colorado (Just south of Boulder)- December 05, 2016

Edit: Ignore the (C) on the y-axis of the plot. It’s actually in Fahrenheit but the axis title didn’t chance.

Denver and the surrounding regions have already started to cool off dramatically after the passage of a cold front earlier that has caused temperatures to drop ~14°F in the last few hours. We’re still about 10°F warmer than tomorrow’s expected high temperature of 28°F which means that we still have a lot of cooling off to do tonight. In fact, we’re going to be dropping into the low teens this evening. A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued by the National Weather Service and can be found below.

Winter Weather Advisory-

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOWFALL, WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 5 PM
TUESDAY TO NOON MST WEDNESDAY.

* TIMING...LIGHT SNOW WILL START TUESDAY AROUND RUSH HOUR AND
  INCREASE IN INTENSITY BY TUESDAY EVENING AND CONTINUE THROUGH
  WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 5 INCHES WILL BE
  POSSIBLE WITH HIGHER AMOUNTS WEST OF I-25

* WIND/VISIBILITY...WINDS WILL BE LIGHT THROUGH THE
  PERIOD...HOWEVER SNOWFALL INTENSITY WILL INCREASE TUESDAY NIGHT
  AND CREATE FOR SOME REDUCED VISIBILITY.

* IMPACTS...MAIN IMPACTS WILL BE HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS WITH
  INCREASING SNOW INTENSITY TUESDAY EVENING TOWARDS THE END OF
  RUSH HOUR. CAUTION IS ADVISED FOR DRIVERS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW
WILL CAUSE PRIMARILY TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW
COVERED ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE
DRIVING.

As we edge closer to the storm system that will impact us tomorrow and Wednesday, some things are clear and others are still a bit fuzzy. What we know is that we will see a pretty drastic change to our weather that has been relatively mild over the last few days and we’ll wind up with frigid temperatures and snow arriving in Denver tomorrow afternoon and continuing through Wednesday. However, we still don’t know just how much snow we’ll actually be getting. There is a bit of disagreement between models, but the overall consensus is that it’s looking like 2-4″ of snow for most areas around Denver that will fall primarily between late afternoon/evening tomorrow through Wednesday morning. Snowfall will be relatively light, but heavier areas in the foothills, mountains, and to the east of Denver are expected.

A more comprehensive forecast will be available tomorrow morning so make sure to check back!

Thanks for reading!

-Andrew