Colorado’s weather is all over the map this week — from winter storms in the west to wildfire warnings in the southeast.
“That's March-April Colorado weather for you,” Russell Danielson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boulder, told CPR News. Danielson said spring in Colorado is “officially underway.”
Snow is expected to begin falling in the western mountains Monday evening, with the heaviest accumulation forecasted for Tuesday morning. By Tuesday evening, some areas could see between 6 and 12 inches on the ground, with the San Juans receiving the highest totals. However, as Norv Larson, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction, explained, snow will continue to fall sporadically throughout the week, making it difficult to pinpoint exact totals.
In addition to the snow, high winds — with gusts reaching up to 45 mph — are expected to sweep through the southwestern part of Colorado tonight. These winds, paired with blowing snow, will lead to poor travel conditions, especially in the higher elevations.
“Pavement impacts across western Colorado will likely be more significant,” Austyn Dineen, a spokesperson for the state’s transportation department, told CPR News. According to Dineen, visibility will be poor due to high winds and heavy snowfall most of the day on Tuesday.
Mountains in Summit County could see up to ten inches of snow from this storm, with some of the taller peaks accumulating as much as 16 inches. However, the Denver metro area and the Eastern Plains will remain largely unaffected, with Danielson predicting “a few snowflakes at most.” While temperatures will be getting colder on the Front Range, the Denver area will likely see less than half an inch of accumulation.
Further south, conditions are far from wintery — the National Weather Service in Pueblo has issued a Red Flag Warning Monday afternoon for multiple southern Colorado counties, including Pueblo, Huerfano, Otero, and Las Animas. With low humidity, warm temperatures, and gusty winds, fire danger remains high in these regions.
The fire risk continues into Tuesday, with red flag conditions forecast for an even broader swath of southeastern Colorado, including El Paso County.
