Noon MDT, Thursday, March 11, 2021
Timing changes since yesterday
The onset of the storm is a little delayed compared to previous outlooks. Significant precipitation is unlikely before Friday evening. The heaviest period of snow is likely to be late Saturday into Sunday.
Key features of weekend storm
The absolute heaviest snow is likely in eastern Wyoming. Cheyenne may very well exceed 2 feet and rival its biggest snow of record (~26″).
Heavy accumulations are likely from metro Denver northward (Colorado Springs will likely be south of the heaviest snow, but should still expect some snow & wind).
Rain?
Relatively warm, moist air will be drawn in from the southern plains, and a significant portion of the precipitation on the eastern plains may fall as rain. The rain area has trended westward with time, but it still appears that precipitation will be mainly snow for the urban corridor. I would not be surprised to see a little rain in the Denver-Boulder area prior to Saturday evening.
Most likely amounts
2-3 feet southeastern Wyoming and the east slopes of the Colorado mountains & foothills north of the Colorado Springs area. I expect to see a sub-region in this area report over three feet.
20-29 inches Fort Collins, Boulder, Broomfield, and the west suburbs of Denver
16-24 inches Denver, DIA, Longmont
Do I think there can be more? Yes, I’d put that at 20% chance. Also, the same chance (20%) that there could be less than the ranges given above.
I have plans to fly out of DIA at 10 am on Monday. Trying to figure out if I should change my plans (not easily done).
LikeLike
The storm will have settled down by then, but I imagine that airlines may choose to move their aircraft to other locations on Saturday and Sunday, so it might take well into Monday to recover.
LikeLike