Colorado Weather: Mild Start To Spring With Snow Soon To Follow

DENVER(CBS)- Spring arrives on Sunday morning at 9:33 am and the weather is going to be warming up just in time for the weekend! Friday finished with 40s and 50s over the Front Range and the Denver metro area.

A warming ridge of high pressure is moving in on Colorado. This will bring in warmer temps statewide along with the downslope component of a west/southwest wind warming eastern parts of the state the most for both Saturday and Sunday.

Both Saturday and Sunday may have a few high clouds here and there but, temperatures will be perfect for melting that snow!

The next Big Thing is another storm system which is lurking out in the Pacific. This system will bring in a cold front and a low pressure area that should swing from Arizona into northeastern New Mexico. This will bring in another chance for heavy, wet, cement-like snow for many in the state including the Denver metro area. With three days out there are lots of uncertianties on how the storm will take shape. But to give you a heads up that there will be a significant weather shift next week we have called for a First Alert Weather Weather Day for Monday. Here is the latest thought on how the storm should shake out.

The system will start with afternoon and evening snow in the mountains on Sunday. Then, the Front Range will pick up overnight rain Sunday into Monday when, it changes over to snow during the Monday morning drive.

At this point, the path of the storm system is still very uncertain. One path has the low moving south between Albuquerque and Amarillo and then into Oklahoma. This path would mean lighter amounts of snow for the Denver metro area and heavier snow in and near the Foothills.

Here is one very, preliminary model with amounts likely to change. This would likely be the scenario if the storm stays south.

Another path would have the low moving further north into the panhandle of Oklahoma. This path would mean heavier amounts of snow for the Denver metro area and the Front Range Foothills too.

The very, preliminary model with amounts likely to change on this scenario would call for more heavy snow by Tuesday.

Once our forecast team gets to the weekend there will be more short term models available for guidance on the snow. Please feel free to check CBS4, CBSDenver.com, CBS News Colorado thru the weekend for updates on Mondays impending storm.