Winter Storm Brings Changes For Christmas Day
DENVER (CBS4) - A winter storm approaching Colorado will bring major changes starting Saturday night. Ahead of the storm plan on relatively pleasant weather for Christmas Eve with mostly sunny skies and mild temperatures.
As the storm moves into Colorado Saturday night, snow will gradually develop over the mountains including along the I-70 corridor. The heaviest snow will wait until after midnight. A Winter Weather Advisory is scheduled to go into the effect for the mountains from Saturday night through Sunday night. During this time there will be snow and wind in the high country which will cause slow and at times difficult travel conditions with snowpacked roads and limited visibility.
The mountains of Summit County, the Winter Park area, and the Rocky Mountain National Park region will see 4-8 inches of snow by late Sunday. Mountain areas located farther west including Steamboat, Vail, Aspen, and Crested Butte will see at least 6-10 inches of snow. And the heaviest snow in Colorado will be found in the San Juan Mountains where at least 10-16" is expected around Telluride, Durango, and Sliverton.
For the Denver area, there is a chance (40%) for wet snow Christmas morning. If snow manages to develop, some minor accumulation is possible (an inch or less). A somewhat better chance for snow exists on the Eastern Plains but again, any accumulation will be minor.
The more significant weather impact on Christmas Day in the metro area should be wind. Wind gusts around Denver and Boulder could exceed 45 mph. It will be even stronger farther north around Fort Collins as well as in the foothills of Larimer, Boulder, and Jefferson Counties. A High Wind Watch has been posted for these areas on Sunday for gusts over 70 mph.
Drier, calmer, and sunnier weather will return on Monday. Warmer weather will be back Tuesday. And most of next week looks quiet other than occasional chances for light snow in the mountains.
Ashton Altieri is a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist. Watch him on the CBS4 Morning News weekdays from 4:30 a.m. to 7 a.m. Connect with Ashton on Facebook and on Twitter @AshtonCBS4.
