A winter storm will bring more than a foot of snow to Colorado’s mountains this week, and the chance for snow in the Denver area is growing stronger, according to the National Weather Service.
As of Monday morning, snow forecasts from the weather service included expected totals of:
- 2 inches in Commerce City, Denver and Greeley, with up to 5 inches possible
- 3 inches in Brighton and Littleton, with up to 5 inches possible
- 3 inches in Broomfield and at Denver International Airport, with up to 6 inches possible
- 4 inches in Aurora, Centennial and Highlands Ranch, with up to 6 inches possible
- 5 inches in Boulder, Castle Rock and Parker, with up to 9 inches possible
- 6 inches in Breckenridge, with up to 11 inches possible
- 9 inches at the Keystone Area Ski Summit, with up to 15 inches possible
- 10 inches in Evergreen, with up to 12 inches possible
- 10 inches on Interstate 70’s Vail Pass, with up to 16 inches possible
- 11 inches in Conifer, with up to 14 inches possible
- 12 inches in Georgetown and on Colorado 9’s Hoosier Pass near Fairplay, with up to 17 inches possible
- 13 inches in Estes Park, with up to 18 inches possible
- 14 inches in Black Hawk and Central City, with up to 17 inches possible
- 15 inches in Winter Park, with up to 21 inches possible
- 16 inches in Nederland, with up to 20 inches possible
- 18 inches on U.S. 6’s Loveland Pass, with up to 24 inches possible
- 19 inches in Eldora, with up to 25 inches possible
- 22 inches on U.S. 40’s Berthoud Pass near Winter Park, with up to 31 inches possible
- 24 inches at Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, with up to 31 inches possible
- 25 inches on Colorado 14’s Cameron Pass near Walden, with up to 30 inches possible
There’s a “high confidence” in the mountain forecast, but a “slightly higher uncertainty for lower elevations,” weather service forecasters wrote on social media.
Still, chances for several inches of wet snow in the urban corridor on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning are rising, forecasters said. Damage to tree limbs and power lines will be possible.
Winter storm warnings had already been issued Monday by the weather service for parts of northern Colorado, including Boulder, Jackson and Larimer counties. The warnings will be in effect from late Monday night to 3 p.m. Wednesday, though the heaviest snow is expected on Tuesday.
The weather service also issued winter weather advisories for parts of Adams, Arapahoe, El Paso, Elbert, Jackson, Lincoln, Park, Summit, Teller and Weld counties. Those advisories will be in effect from 6 p.m. Tuesday to 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Metro Denver remained under a winter storm watch on Monday, but that alert may be upgraded as the forecast solidifies. Watches also covered parts of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Grand, Jefferson, Larimer, Park, Summit and Weld counties.
Snow will be possible in Denver between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tuesday, and again between 6 p.m. Tuesday and 5 p.m. Wednesday, according to hourly forecasts from the weather service. The strongest chance of winter weather falls between midnight and 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
If snow does fall in the metro as predicted, it will mark Denver’s latest measurable spring snow since 2022, according to weather service records. The latest spring snow ever recorded in Denver was on June 2, 1951.
Snow was expected to start early Monday morning in Colorado’s high-elevation mountains — including on several mountain passes — and continue through Wednesday evening, according to the weather service.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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