Multi-day snowstorm to descend on the Rockies this week
By
Jessica Storm, AccuWeather Meteorologist
Updated Apr 12, 2021 2:20 PM EDT
Snow is on the way to the Rocky Mountains this week, stretching from Billings, Montana, to Denver. Although this region has experienced some quick-hitting heavy snow over the winter season, this spring snowstorm is expected to be lighter, but longer-lived.
Snow and rain showers occurred across areas of the Montana Rockies Saturday night through Sunday as a storm brought the cold that was setting records in Alaska over the last few days through the state.
Though Billings started the weekend with a high of 68 degrees Fahrenheit, over 10 degrees above the normal high temperature, the city's high temperature struggled to reach 46 F on Sunday, due to the cold air sweeping into the region.
Casper, Wyoming, also recorded a high 10 degrees above normal on Saturday at 65 F, but fell 20 degrees short of that on Sunday. The city usually sits in the mid-50s in early April.
This image, captured early Sunday morning on April 11, 2021, shows cold pouring into the northwestern United States overnight. (AccuWeather)
Though this new cold air is very dry, the threat of snow is not yet over this season across the Rockies, as a new snowstorm looms on the horizon.
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"The potential for a more widespread snow event will arrive on Tuesday for much of the Rockies. A slow-moving storm will push northeastward out of the Southwest and into the Four Corners region on Tuesday," AccuWeather Meteorologist Mary Gilbert said.
With such dry, cold air enwrapping the Rockies from the north combined with the ongoing drought in the Southwest, this storm will need to find its moisture from another source.
"This storm will be able to tap into and pull deep moisture associated with a storm stalled out over the Great Lakes into the Rockies. This surge of moisture, in conjunction with plummeting temperatures across the region, will pave the way for accumulating snow to fall from Utah and Colorado, northward into Montana and eastward into portions of the Plains," Gilbert said.
While it won't be much compared to earlier-season snowfalls, accumulation is expected to occur across several states, including Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nebraska and Colorado, with the highest elevations of these states receiving the highest snowfall amounts.
"A general 1-3 inches of snow is expected to blanket the relatively lower elevations across the southern and central Rockies. Amounts upwards of half a foot or more will likely be confined to the highest elevations of Colorado and southern Wyoming," Gilbert said.
Denver has only measured a trace of snow thus far this April, so this event may be the city's first accumulating snowfall of the month.
"This event will give Denver yet another opportunity for accumulating snow. Since 2000, the Denver area has averaged about 4.8 inches of snow for the month of April, so it isn’t unusual for the city to undergo a few snowy days," Gilbert added. Typically, February and March are the snowiest months of the year for the Denver area, largely due to the increased availability of moist air.
Although snow is forecast for the Denver area this week, the anticipated snow amounts pale in comparison to certain snowstorms in recent memory.
"Denver is actually coming out of its second-snowiest and second-wettest March in the history of the city," Gilbert said. Last month, the city recorded a whopping 34.0 inches of snowfall, just over an inch away from usurping the record of 35.2 inches from March of 2003, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) on Twitter.
Many low-elevation and southerly areas are forecast to have both rain and snow falling at different times during this event, or at least very wet snow. Temperatures are beginning to rise to spring standards and the sun is already fairly high in the sky during early April, which will encourage warm weather to fight the cold push this week.
Denver is expected to have temperatures rise to 48 degrees on Tuesday as precipitation falls. While this is much below average, it is still feasible for rain to mix with the anticipated snow.
As the event grows closer, forecast certainty about temperatures and snowfall amounts will increase, so it is important to continue to check your local AccuWeather forecast frequently.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
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News / Winter Weather
Multi-day snowstorm to descend on the Rockies this week
By Jessica Storm, AccuWeather Meteorologist
Updated Apr 12, 2021 2:20 PM EDT
Snow is on the way to the Rocky Mountains this week, stretching from Billings, Montana, to Denver. Although this region has experienced some quick-hitting heavy snow over the winter season, this spring snowstorm is expected to be lighter, but longer-lived.
Snow and rain showers occurred across areas of the Montana Rockies Saturday night through Sunday as a storm brought the cold that was setting records in Alaska over the last few days through the state.
Though Billings started the weekend with a high of 68 degrees Fahrenheit, over 10 degrees above the normal high temperature, the city's high temperature struggled to reach 46 F on Sunday, due to the cold air sweeping into the region.
Casper, Wyoming, also recorded a high 10 degrees above normal on Saturday at 65 F, but fell 20 degrees short of that on Sunday. The city usually sits in the mid-50s in early April.
This image, captured early Sunday morning on April 11, 2021, shows cold pouring into the northwestern United States overnight. (AccuWeather)
Though this new cold air is very dry, the threat of snow is not yet over this season across the Rockies, as a new snowstorm looms on the horizon.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"The potential for a more widespread snow event will arrive on Tuesday for much of the Rockies. A slow-moving storm will push northeastward out of the Southwest and into the Four Corners region on Tuesday," AccuWeather Meteorologist Mary Gilbert said.
With such dry, cold air enwrapping the Rockies from the north combined with the ongoing drought in the Southwest, this storm will need to find its moisture from another source.
"This storm will be able to tap into and pull deep moisture associated with a storm stalled out over the Great Lakes into the Rockies. This surge of moisture, in conjunction with plummeting temperatures across the region, will pave the way for accumulating snow to fall from Utah and Colorado, northward into Montana and eastward into portions of the Plains," Gilbert said.
While it won't be much compared to earlier-season snowfalls, accumulation is expected to occur across several states, including Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nebraska and Colorado, with the highest elevations of these states receiving the highest snowfall amounts.
"A general 1-3 inches of snow is expected to blanket the relatively lower elevations across the southern and central Rockies. Amounts upwards of half a foot or more will likely be confined to the highest elevations of Colorado and southern Wyoming," Gilbert said.
Denver has only measured a trace of snow thus far this April, so this event may be the city's first accumulating snowfall of the month.
"This event will give Denver yet another opportunity for accumulating snow. Since 2000, the Denver area has averaged about 4.8 inches of snow for the month of April, so it isn’t unusual for the city to undergo a few snowy days," Gilbert added. Typically, February and March are the snowiest months of the year for the Denver area, largely due to the increased availability of moist air.
Although snow is forecast for the Denver area this week, the anticipated snow amounts pale in comparison to certain snowstorms in recent memory.
"Denver is actually coming out of its second-snowiest and second-wettest March in the history of the city," Gilbert said. Last month, the city recorded a whopping 34.0 inches of snowfall, just over an inch away from usurping the record of 35.2 inches from March of 2003, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) on Twitter.
Many low-elevation and southerly areas are forecast to have both rain and snow falling at different times during this event, or at least very wet snow. Temperatures are beginning to rise to spring standards and the sun is already fairly high in the sky during early April, which will encourage warm weather to fight the cold push this week.
Related:
Denver is expected to have temperatures rise to 48 degrees on Tuesday as precipitation falls. While this is much below average, it is still feasible for rain to mix with the anticipated snow.
As the event grows closer, forecast certainty about temperatures and snowfall amounts will increase, so it is important to continue to check your local AccuWeather forecast frequently.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo