Wintry weather targets Rockies, Front Range after bringing rain and snow to the Southwest
By
Brandon Buckingham, AccuWeather Meteorologist
Published Feb 21, 2020 9:06 AM EST
Most of the storm systems this winter season have taken aim at the Pacific Northwest, but a storm system that has tracked into the Southwest, and then the Rockies, broke the trend this weekend.
It has been a fairly active winter season across portions of the Intermountain West, including Utah's Wasatch Range. According to the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Utah, most reporting sites are between 100-150% of average annual snowfall across the basin.
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A new storm system will continue to add to the seasonal snow totals across central and southern Utah through the morning hours Sunday before tapering off.
Given the track of the storm, rain and snow has stayed south of places like Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah.
A general 1-3 inches of snow is forecast to fall in populated cities like the Denver metro area, with heavier snow forecast in the Colorado Rockies. Colorado Springs may be the exception with a forecast 3-6 inches of snow.
An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 15 inches is forecast for the central and southern Rockies and Wasatch Range.
As the storm tracks eastward, portions of the Interstate 25 corridor in Colorado and New Mexico could face travel issues courtesy of the storm system overhead.
Rain and mountain snow will begin to taper off across the Four Corners region through the day on Sunday as the storm system is expected to track out of the Front Range and into the Plains.
In the wake of this storm system, conditions look to be cool and dry early next week. Moderating temperatures and dry weather may continue through much of the week as an area of high pressure is expected to set up shop across the Southwest.
February is typically the wettest month across many Southwestern cities, that first got hit by this storm.
When the rain doesn't tally up during this time, it can spell troubling times for the upcoming dry season. Luckily, the storm system that brought will help alleviate some of those concerns by helping to reduce the rainfall deficit.
While the storm system was not very impressive across portions of Southern California, it was a different story as heavy rain fell across Arizona. Phoenix observed their rainiest February day in 17 years and set a daily rainfall record Saturday.
With the exception of a bit of snow in the southern Sierra, this storm system largely missed the mountain range. As of Feb. 19, the entire Sierra Nevada Mountain Range has only observed slightly over 50% of snowfall compared to average.
A major difference from last year, when a seemingly never-ending train of storm systems took aim at the mountains.
As rain tracked into the Las Vegas area Saturday, NASCAR racers and fans alike struggled to deal with the wet track. As a result, the Xfinity series Boyd Gaming 300 was postponed until Sunday following the Penzoil 400. Luckily for the NASCAR community, the forecast looks much better for race day on Sunday.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Winter Weather
Wintry weather targets Rockies, Front Range after bringing rain and snow to the Southwest
By Brandon Buckingham, AccuWeather Meteorologist
Published Feb 21, 2020 9:06 AM EST
Most of the storm systems this winter season have taken aim at the Pacific Northwest, but a storm system that has tracked into the Southwest, and then the Rockies, broke the trend this weekend.
It has been a fairly active winter season across portions of the Intermountain West, including Utah's Wasatch Range. According to the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Utah, most reporting sites are between 100-150% of average annual snowfall across the basin.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
A new storm system will continue to add to the seasonal snow totals across central and southern Utah through the morning hours Sunday before tapering off.
Given the track of the storm, rain and snow has stayed south of places like Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah.
A general 1-3 inches of snow is forecast to fall in populated cities like the Denver metro area, with heavier snow forecast in the Colorado Rockies. Colorado Springs may be the exception with a forecast 3-6 inches of snow.
An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 15 inches is forecast for the central and southern Rockies and Wasatch Range.
As the storm tracks eastward, portions of the Interstate 25 corridor in Colorado and New Mexico could face travel issues courtesy of the storm system overhead.
Rain and mountain snow will begin to taper off across the Four Corners region through the day on Sunday as the storm system is expected to track out of the Front Range and into the Plains.
In the wake of this storm system, conditions look to be cool and dry early next week. Moderating temperatures and dry weather may continue through much of the week as an area of high pressure is expected to set up shop across the Southwest.
Related:
February is typically the wettest month across many Southwestern cities, that first got hit by this storm.
When the rain doesn't tally up during this time, it can spell troubling times for the upcoming dry season. Luckily, the storm system that brought will help alleviate some of those concerns by helping to reduce the rainfall deficit.
While the storm system was not very impressive across portions of Southern California, it was a different story as heavy rain fell across Arizona. Phoenix observed their rainiest February day in 17 years and set a daily rainfall record Saturday.
With the exception of a bit of snow in the southern Sierra, this storm system largely missed the mountain range. As of Feb. 19, the entire Sierra Nevada Mountain Range has only observed slightly over 50% of snowfall compared to average.
A major difference from last year, when a seemingly never-ending train of storm systems took aim at the mountains.
As rain tracked into the Las Vegas area Saturday, NASCAR racers and fans alike struggled to deal with the wet track. As a result, the Xfinity series Boyd Gaming 300 was postponed until Sunday following the Penzoil 400. Luckily for the NASCAR community, the forecast looks much better for race day on Sunday.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo