Large hail and damaging winds expected across Eastern Colorado Saturday afternoon
All modes of severe weather will be on the table Saturday afternoon between 1-8PM. Storms will fire up across the Palmer Divide and Denver Metro area between 1-3 PM.
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First Alert Meteorologist Joe Ruch's passion for meteorology developed at just 12 years old. He was at the Eagles vs. Lions Snow Bowl game, the forecast called for 1-3" of snow in Philadelphia, but the storm dumped 9" of snow with blizzard conditions. This sparked his curiosity as to why the forecast went wrong and the rest is history.
After pursuing a Bachelor of Science Degree in Meteorology and Atmospheric Science from Penn State University, he took a leap of faith and moved to Colorado Springs. It was not long before he found himself chasing all types of weather from snow to tornadoes. Joe quickly fell in love with the challenge of forecasting the weather along the Front Range. Mother Nature always has a trick up her sleeve.
In 2024, Joe was hired by CBS News Colorado and began forecasting from the First Alert Weather Center. Within a few days of joining the team, an epic snowstorm dumped more than a foot of snow on parts of the Denver metro area and Joe was able to provide important updates on the snowfall totals to CBS Colorado viewers.
Aside from forecasting the weather, Joe loves to spend time outside. He has enjoyed exploring the high country, whether that be going on hikes or camping overnight. Joe's favorite trip so far was hiking to the top of the sand dunes in the Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve on a hot summer day (never again).
You'll also find Joe exploring new restaurants downtown. He loves food!
Just The Facts
• Position: First Alert Meteorologist
• Year hired: 2024
• Alma Mater: Penn State
• Hometown: Garnet Valley, PA
• Hobbies: Fishing, Eating, Working Out
• Favorite Food: Salmon
• Number of Siblings: 3
• Least Favorite Chore: Folding Laundry
• Least Favorite Noise: The screech from chalk on a chalkboard
• What keeps you in Colorado? How unpredictable Mother Nature can be
All modes of severe weather will be on the table Saturday afternoon between 1-8PM. Storms will fire up across the Palmer Divide and Denver Metro area between 1-3 PM.
What an end to the month of May in Denver... hail, flooding, and several rounds of severe weather across the Front Range. June tends to be an active month for severe weather, and the trends are pointing to that again this year.
Hail and damaging winds will be a concern through Thursday across Colorado's Eastern Plains.
All modes of severe weather are expected across the Eastern Plains of Colorado later Monday afternoon and evening.
A few strong to severe thunderstorms capable of producing hail and gusty outflows are possible this afternoon and evening.
The northern lights are expected to be visible across the northern third of Colorado.
Winds have arrived across the Front Range of Colorado. Top wind gusts reports so far today clocked in at 96 MPH southwest of Colorado Springs, and 87 MPH in Boulder.
April showers bring May flowers ... and boy, what a start to the year it has been.
Colorado's snowpack continues rapidly melting across the southern portion of the state.
Additional snow amounts below 6,000 feet will be very small and mostly on grassy surfaces. The foothills will likely pick up an additional 1-4", with a few 6"+ reports possible at higher elevations.
The first severe weather day of 2024 is headed our way on Thursday with the chance for large hail, damaging wind gusts and a few tornadoes. Currently, the greatest area of concern remains east of Greeley.
Severe thunderstorms can bring several types of damaging weather as they impact your community.
Tornado season is rapidly approaching Colorado. In fact, we are under a month away from one of the most active months on average.
Severe weather season is rapidly approaching in Colorado. Of the many types of severe weather, hail is the most frequent. It can also be very costly.
Denver's average last freeze is just over three weeks away.