Significant travel impacts & road closures expected across mountains
Travel should be avoided in the Colorado high country for a roughly 36-hour window beginning Tuesday morning and lasting until Wednesday afternoon.
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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
Travel should be avoided in the Colorado high country for a roughly 36-hour window beginning Tuesday morning and lasting until Wednesday afternoon.
Widespread 1-2 feet of snow is expected across Colorado's high country, Denver will see accumulations Wednesday.
One of the big things we look at is what El Nino and La Nino are doing. It all has to do with the water temperatures off the coast of South America.
Last February after a big snowstorm in Grand Mesa one group of snowmobilers hit the slopes for what they thought would be a fun afternoon. The fun came to a screeching halt when one of those snowmobilers triggered a small avalanche.
Colorado is home to some of the wildest weather across the United States. After all, the old saying goes "The weather starts east of the Rockies."
This significant difference in elevation can help play a pivotal role in deciding which place will be the big winner during a snowstorm. Three major features that drive northern Colorado's weather include the Front Range Mountains, Palmer Divide, and the Cheyenne Ridge.
One of the tools meteorologists use to determine how fluffy or wet snow is, is a snow-to-liquid ratio.
A near-miss to start the week with snow showers possible across Colorado on Tuesday.
First Alert Weather Days now stretch through Saturday because of more heavy snow on the way.
Accumulating snow will continue Sunday night and into the morning commute on Monday across Colorado and portions of Denver.
As we head overnight Tuesday into Wednesday rain may transition to snow, allowing for very minor slushy accumulations at best on Wednesday.
Warm and dry for the week ahead. Are you used to that by now? That is really all we are watching for the next few days... but things get interesting in the extended forecast.
Accumulating snow is expected in Colorado Sunday night into Monday.
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3) will likely remain visible to the naked eye through October 21st and the largest supermoon of the year will rise on Thursday.
The position is key, further west would result in the cold air stay too far west. If it stays to the east, a wetter and cooler solutions would become more likely.