Foggy Overnight, Rain To Snow Monday Night

By Chris Spears

DENVER (CBS4) - Scattered rain and snow showers are possible overnight in the northern mountains and on the adjacent plains of Larimer and Weld counties.

Fog is likely on the northeast plains along and east of Interstate 25 early Monday and it could be locally dense at times with visibility under 1/4 mile in spots. Because of this the National Weather Service has issued a Dense Fog Advisory.

All eyes are on the main precipitation event that will take place Monday night and early Tuesday as an area of low pressure passes to the south of Colorado.

Rain is expected in the Denver area by sunset and it should change over to snow shortly thereafter. Totals will be light because the snow won't last long. In fact it may be finished by 2 or 3 a.m. Tuesday with just some left over flurries for the morning rush.

We think at best 1 to 3 inches on grassy areas in metro Denver and that may be generous. Little to no snow is expected between Longmont, Loveland, Fort Collins and Greeley. There could be a pocket of 4-8 inches in the foothills west of Denver.

NOTE: The longer it takes for rain to change to snow the lower the snow totals will be. On the flip, if the change happens quickly then snow totals will be a bit higher along the Front Range.

In the mountains the highest totals will be in the south-central part of the state, in particular, the eastern San Juans and the Sangre de Cristos. Some places could exceed 6 inches there.

Only a few inches is expected in the high country of northwest Colorado.

Little to no snow is expected on the northeast plains and southeast Colorado could see a few slushy inches before all is said and done.

Meteorologist Chris Spears travels weekly in the CBS4 Mobile Weather Lab reporting about Colorado's weather and climate. Check out his bio, connect with him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @ChrisCBS4.