Fresh snowfall on the way for Salt Lake City, Denver
By
Jessica Storm, AccuWeather Meteorologist
Published Feb 14, 2022 11:18 AM EDT
|
Updated Feb 16, 2022 12:53 PM EDT
A wave of cold air headed toward the Rocky Mountains this week will send temperatures diving below average and help deliver widespread snow, including 3-6 inches in Denver, days after a springlike warmup unfolded across the region.
"The Denver area will be caught between a storm moving out of the Southwest and a high pressure surging southward across the northern Plains," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Michael LeSeney, explaining that this will draw moisture northward into the southern Plains.
Temperatures are expected to trend downward as the storm crosses the region, producing accumulating snow across the Intermountain West, even down to pass levels.
"As cold, arctic air presses southward across Wyoming and Colorado, an easterly wind will draw upon that moisture in the southern Plains and push it up into the Rocky Mountains," said LeSeney.
Snow overspread portions of Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming on Tuesday evening, and forecasters say it will spread in a southeasterly direction. In places like Salt Lake City, snow will start as a mix of rain and snow. By early Wednesday, snow is likely to overspread the mountains in Colorado.
"As this cold, moist air flows up the slope of the Rockies, it will produce widespread snow across eastern Colorado and will bring several inches of snow to the cities and communities along the Front Range from Fort Collins, Colorado, in the north to Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the south," explained LeSeney.
Snow is forecast to end Wednesday evening in the Mile High City, and a total of 3-6 inches is expected by the time it's all said and done. However, heavier amounts to near a foot are forecast on the western slopes of the Rockies to the immediate west of Denver with 6-12 inches over the foothills.
Snow is expected to begin falling in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico on Wednesday morning. Cities across the West, including Salt Lake City; Cheyenne, Wyoming; and Santa Fe, New Mexico; could all receive over an inch of snow from this storm. The highest totals are anticipated to pile up across the mountains of Colorado, especially west and southwest of Denver.
Accumulations around Salt Lake City are forecast to range from a coating to 2 inches, but amounts will ramp up substantially over the benches to the east of the city, where 3-6 inches can pile up. In the Salt Lake Basin, most of the snow accumulation will be on non-paved surfaces, but enough snow and slush can occur to make for slippery roads and sidewalks.
The snow is likely to cause slippery road conditions, reduce visibilities and create travel delays across the West. Motorists are urged to use caution when traveling in these conditions. Those traveling on interstates 15, 25, 70, 76, 80, 84 and 86 are recommended to slow down and avoid unnecessary travel during the storm.
Denver had high temperatures in the 50s and even the 60s last week, but a return to harsh winter cold is expected as the storm brings frigid air from the north.
The period from Wednesday to Wednesday night will be the coldest part of the week for Denver, with high temperatures only topping out in the lower to mid-30s, at least 10 degrees below the average in the middle 40s, and conditions could feel even colder with AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures in the upper 20s. Temperatures will fall into the middle teens Wednesday night, several degrees below the usual upper teens.
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This bitter cold will be most significant during the overnight hours, but it will stay quite cold during the daytime, forecasters say. The last time the temperature failed to rise above the middle 30s in Denver was at the beginning of the month.
"Back to winter on Wednesday," the National Weather Service in Boulder, Colorado, stated on Twitter.
This event will be only the first leg of the storm's journey across the United States this week as it is expected to exit the West at the end of the Rockies and then tap into moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, bringing the threat of flooding rain and severe storms to the East.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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News / Winter Weather
Fresh snowfall on the way for Salt Lake City, Denver
By Jessica Storm, AccuWeather Meteorologist
Published Feb 14, 2022 11:18 AM EDT | Updated Feb 16, 2022 12:53 PM EDT
A wave of cold air headed toward the Rocky Mountains this week will send temperatures diving below average and help deliver widespread snow, including 3-6 inches in Denver, days after a springlike warmup unfolded across the region.
"The Denver area will be caught between a storm moving out of the Southwest and a high pressure surging southward across the northern Plains," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Michael LeSeney, explaining that this will draw moisture northward into the southern Plains.
Temperatures are expected to trend downward as the storm crosses the region, producing accumulating snow across the Intermountain West, even down to pass levels.
"As cold, arctic air presses southward across Wyoming and Colorado, an easterly wind will draw upon that moisture in the southern Plains and push it up into the Rocky Mountains," said LeSeney.
Snow overspread portions of Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming on Tuesday evening, and forecasters say it will spread in a southeasterly direction. In places like Salt Lake City, snow will start as a mix of rain and snow. By early Wednesday, snow is likely to overspread the mountains in Colorado.
"As this cold, moist air flows up the slope of the Rockies, it will produce widespread snow across eastern Colorado and will bring several inches of snow to the cities and communities along the Front Range from Fort Collins, Colorado, in the north to Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the south," explained LeSeney.
Snow is forecast to end Wednesday evening in the Mile High City, and a total of 3-6 inches is expected by the time it's all said and done. However, heavier amounts to near a foot are forecast on the western slopes of the Rockies to the immediate west of Denver with 6-12 inches over the foothills.
Snow is expected to begin falling in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico on Wednesday morning. Cities across the West, including Salt Lake City; Cheyenne, Wyoming; and Santa Fe, New Mexico; could all receive over an inch of snow from this storm. The highest totals are anticipated to pile up across the mountains of Colorado, especially west and southwest of Denver.
Accumulations around Salt Lake City are forecast to range from a coating to 2 inches, but amounts will ramp up substantially over the benches to the east of the city, where 3-6 inches can pile up. In the Salt Lake Basin, most of the snow accumulation will be on non-paved surfaces, but enough snow and slush can occur to make for slippery roads and sidewalks.
The snow is likely to cause slippery road conditions, reduce visibilities and create travel delays across the West. Motorists are urged to use caution when traveling in these conditions. Those traveling on interstates 15, 25, 70, 76, 80, 84 and 86 are recommended to slow down and avoid unnecessary travel during the storm.
Denver had high temperatures in the 50s and even the 60s last week, but a return to harsh winter cold is expected as the storm brings frigid air from the north.
The period from Wednesday to Wednesday night will be the coldest part of the week for Denver, with high temperatures only topping out in the lower to mid-30s, at least 10 degrees below the average in the middle 40s, and conditions could feel even colder with AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures in the upper 20s. Temperatures will fall into the middle teens Wednesday night, several degrees below the usual upper teens.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
This bitter cold will be most significant during the overnight hours, but it will stay quite cold during the daytime, forecasters say. The last time the temperature failed to rise above the middle 30s in Denver was at the beginning of the month.
"Back to winter on Wednesday," the National Weather Service in Boulder, Colorado, stated on Twitter.
This event will be only the first leg of the storm's journey across the United States this week as it is expected to exit the West at the end of the Rockies and then tap into moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, bringing the threat of flooding rain and severe storms to the East.
More to read:
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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