Denver Weather: Spring Storm Spreads Rain And Snow Across Colorado On Tuesday

DENVER (CBS4) - A very wet Pacific storm system will bring heavy snow to Colorado's high country on Tuesday while Denver and the Front Range sees mostly rain.

Virtually every mountain area in the state has a Winter Weather Advisory until midnight Tuesday night. For the higher mountains closest to the metro area including Summit County, Winter Park, and the Rocky Mountain National Park region, the advisory is for 4-8 inches of snow. This includes the sections of Interstate 70 that are above 10,000 feet between Georgetown and Copper Mountain. Snow squalls are possible in these areas as well from mid-afternoon through the evening.

Snow totals will be slightly higher farther west. Ski areas like Vail, Beaver Creek, Aspen, Crested Butte, and Steamboat are expecting 5-10 inches of snow. A similar total is expected on top of Vail Pass and Rabbit Ears Pass.

The southern mountains including the San Juans and the Sangre de Cristos are also under a Winter Weather Advisory on Tuesday for as much as 10 inches of snow.

For the Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins areas, rain showers are possible any time on Tuesday and are most likely after 3 p.m.

Locations below 6,500 feet should see exclusively rain through at least 8 p.m. Then slushy snow could mix with rain and there should be a complete transition to snow before midnight.

However, by late evening there will be limited moisture and therefore no more than 1 inch of slushy snow is expected on vehicles and grassy surfaces in the metro area by early Wednesday morning. Snow accumulation is not expected on roads in Denver.

The exception is the far south and west sides of town where the combination of slick roads and limited visibility could make for difficult travel along I-25 over Monument Hill, Highway 285 above Morrison, and Interstate 70 above Genesee.

Looking ahead to Wednesday, it will be dry for Denver and the Front Range but light snow will continue at times in the mountains. It will also be windy with northerly wind gusts up to 40 mph in the Denver metro area. That will make it feel quite chilly! Brighter and warmer weather returns Thursday before another storm approaches Thursday night into Friday.