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The Front Range Forecast: A Spring Snow is on the way

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Figure 5: the 10:1 snowfall forecast for the next 3 days from the GFS and tropicaltidbits.com

In Brief:

A warm weekend becomes rain, thunderstorms and some snow at lower elevations.

The Forecast Discussion:

A more Spring-like storm is on its way for Sunday afternoon and evening (Figure 1). This storm will create a more prolonged impact in the mountains (Sun AM to Mon AM, then again Tuesday and Wednesday mid-days). At lower elevations, precipitation will mainly fall between 1pm Sunday and 11pm Sunday (Figure 2 and Figure 3).

The cold front should sweep past Longmont around 2pm. Precipitation will start as rain and thunderstorms with windy conditions and dropping temperatures. Liquid water totals seem to add up to 0.25 to 0.75 inch with locally 1 inch in lucky neighborhoods (Figure 6). Temperatures will be in the 50's Sunday, so we won't see lower elevations switch to snow until evening (the low will be around 20F). The Monday morning commute could be slushy with ice on bridges. Drive carefully//slow down!

Mini-snowfall roundup:

Weather5280.com  1-4" (Figure 4)
The GFS    2-4"  (Figure 5)
Channel 9    1-3"
Channel 7  2-3"
I'm calling for 0.5-3" in Longmont.

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Figure 1: the 10 day graphical forecast for Longmont from weatherunderground.com
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Figure 2: the surface forecast map and precipitation for Sunday PM from the GFS and tropicaltidbits.com
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Figure 3: the surface forecast map and precipitation for Sunday midnight from the GFS and tropicaltidbits.com
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Figure 4: the snowfall forecast from Matt Makens and weather5280.com
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Figure 5: the 10:1 snowfall forecast for the next 3 days from the GFS and tropicaltidbits.com
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Figure 6: the precipitation forecast for the next 3 days from the GFS and tropicaltidbits.com

The Longer Range Forecast:

Things remain cool at the start of the week (Figure 1) with a return of a few rain/snow showers Tuesday PM. We warm up nicely by the end of the week with indications of a more stormy weekend.

 


About the Author: John Ensworth

John Ensworth used to work from Longmont as the PI for the NASA through the IGES (The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies). He now teaches technology, algebra, astronomy, meteorology, film school, and Lego robotics to middle/high school.
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Current Weather

Cloudy

Cloudy

38°F

UV Index
0 Low
Pressure
29.9 Steady
Visibility
7 miles
Dewpoint
37 °F
Humidity
95%
Wind
NNW 1.1 mph
Gust
2.9 mph
Wind Chill
38 °F

Hourly Forecast

Today
4 AM
38°F
Cloudy
Today
5 AM
37°F
Cloudy
Today
6 AM
37°F
Cloudy
Today
7 AM
38°F
Cloudy
Today
8 AM
39°F
Cloudy
Today
9 AM
42°F
Cloudy
Today
10 AM
46°F
Mostly cloudy
Today
11 AM
49°F
Mostly cloudy
Today
12 PM
52°F
Cloudy
Today
1 PM
55°F
Cloudy
Today
2 PM
57°F
Cloudy
Today
3 PM
58°F
Thunderstorms

7 Day Forecast

Rain and snow

Saturday

43 °F

Chilly with a mix of snow and rain; travel in the foothills and mountains will be slippery due to snow


Rain and snow

Saturday Night

37 °F

Cloudy; rain and drizzle in the evening followed by a bit of snow and rain at times late; travel in the foothills and mountains will be slippery due to snow


Thunderstorms

Sunday

61 °F

Mostly cloudy and warmer; a thundershower in spots this afternoon


Partly cloudy w/ t-storms

Sunday Night

37 °F

An evening thunderstorm in parts of the area; otherwise, partly cloudy


Partly sunny

Monday

70 °F

Partly sunny, pleasant and warmer


Intermittent clouds

Monday Night

43 °F

Partly cloudy


Mostly sunny

Tuesday

73 °F

Mostly sunny and pleasant


Mostly cloudy

Tuesday Night

41 °F

Mostly cloudy


Intermittent clouds

Wednesday

65 °F

Times of sun and clouds with a passing shower in the afternoon


Intermittent clouds

Wednesday Night

39 °F

A thundershower in spots in the evening; otherwise, partly cloudy


Sunrise and Sunset

Sunrise
6:04 AM
Sunset
7:52 PM

Based on AccuWeather data