Extreme wind and snow expected to hit Friday
A high wind warning will be in place until 5:00 p.m. on Friday as gusts could reach 75 mph from the foothills to the Eastern Plains.
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First Alert Meteorologist Lauren Whitney loves the challenge of tracking Colorado's unique weather patterns and rapidly changing conditions. Lauren joined the CBS Colorado Mornings team in 2011 and moved to the evening newscasts in 2016. Before her start in Denver, Lauren was the morning weather anchor in Grand Junction at KKCO-TV (NBC).
Lauren is originally from Minnesota and grew up in Phoenix, the city she calls home. She has a B.A. degree in Broadcast Journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University, where she minored in Political Science. She also holds a B.S. degree in Geosciences with a concentration in Broadcast and Operational Meteorology from Mississippi State University.
Lauren is an avid sports fan and had a unique first job with the Arizona Diamondbacks as the "Game Host," roving through the stands and announcing contests on the Jumbotron at Chase Field in Phoenix. Now she's a diehard Rockies supporter and has a lot of purple in her wardrobe.
Covering two Super Bowls for CBS has one of Lauren's career highlights. The weather was a story for the 2014 Broncos vs. Seahawks "cold weather" Super Bowl, with a major snowstorm narrowly missing the game in East Rutherford, NJ, but stranding thousands of fans the next day. Two years later, in San Francisco, it was perfect weather when the Broncos beat the Panthers in Super Bowl 50. "Experiences of a lifetime" is how Lauren describes being on the CBS Colorado Super Bowl broadcast teams.
Being a part of the community she lives in is very important to Lauren. She is a volunteer with the Junior League of Denver -- whose focus is to improve literacy rates in the Denver metro area -- and enjoys emceeing events for nonprofit organizations, such as the Denver Health Foundation and others.
When she's not forecasting the weather, Lauren can be found on family outings with her husband and daughter, reading, or planning some sort of over-the-top themed party.
Just The Facts
Year hired: 2011
First TV appearance: Fox Sports Arizona in college, previewing an Arizona State vs. Oregon football game Other possible career: Hallmark card designer
Dream job: To play with puppies every day
Secret desire: Again, the puppies
Favorite sounds: The very quiet when it snows, the sound of rain on my windows, and all of my loved ones laughing together.
Most memorable interview: Meatloaf. I asked him one question and he talked for 10 minutes. You don't interrupt Meatloaf.
Hidden talent: If eating a whole bag of Sour Patch Kids is considered a talent, then I'm at a professional level.
Favorite quote: "All the colors I am inside have not been invented yet." -Shel Silverstein.
Favorite food: Mac and Cheese; so good. There aren't many things better than homemade mac and cheese. And my grandma's cookies. I have the recipe memorized.
Interesting fact: I'm 5-foot-11. When meeting me for the first time, people are often surprised that I'm a tall person.
Hobbies: I'm pretty crafty (I'm on a first-name basis with the staff at my favorite craft store); getting lost in a good book; making friends try recipes I'm testing; napping on cloudy days; going to movies.
Least favorite household chore: Folding laundry. Who needs matching socks?
What's on your playlist? Mostly country music. I like to listen to other people's playlists to discover new tunes.
What keeps you in Colorado? Colorado sunrises. And the wide array of local beers.
Who would play you in a movie? Meryl Streep or Hugh Jackman. I've heard they're pretty good.
Role model: Overnight nurses. Anytime I'm tired, I think of what they do every night. It's pretty incredible.
Alma Mater: Arizona State University - Go Devils! Mississippi State.
Favorite sports teams: Broncos! All of Colorado's teams. The Arizona Diamondbacks. And of course, my Arizona State Sun Devils.
Star sign: Capricorn, I'm a pretty accurate description of my sign. Don't mess with me!
Hometown: I was born in the chill of St. Cloud, Minnesota, raised in the heat of Phoenix, Arizona.
Number of pets: None, I make friends with all the dogs in my neighborhood.
Number of siblings: Just me!
You can contact Lauren by sending an email to yourreporter@cbs.com.
A high wind warning will be in place until 5:00 p.m. on Friday as gusts could reach 75 mph from the foothills to the Eastern Plains.
The high country will see heavy snow and low visibility, but even the metro area will see temperatures around or under 20 degrees and gusts of up to 45 mph. Denver can see 2 to 5 inches of snow with mountain areas potentially seeing 8 to 16 inches.
There will be a quick wave of snow moving in potentially in time for the morning commute, but it looks more likely that it will move through Denver later in the morning. Then we get a little lull before the heavier snow moves in later in the afternoon and into the overnight hours.
A major weather change will blow into Colorado overnight and ramp up on Thursday. Thursday is a FIRST ALERT WEATHER DAY.
A Freeze Warning will be in place from midnight through 9:00 am for the Denver area and Boulder as temperatures will drop to the mid to upper 20s on Friday morning.
Colorado will go from warm and windy to cold and snow over the weekend! Before we get to the snow, we still have very high fire danger to contend with.
Wednesday and Thursday are FIRST ALERT WEATHER DAYS due to extreme heat and broken records.
Highlands Ranch, Aurora and other parts of the southeastern zone of the Denver metro area saw a storm blow through that brought anywhere from 1 to over 2 inches of rain in less than an hour.
Flash Flood Watches go into effect on Thursday morning for near state-wide risks of flooding.
July has been a very hot month, with very little relief from the heat. That will change a bit as we head into the final week of the month.
Thanks to possible record-breaking or near-record high temperatures, we have First Alert Weather Days for Saturday and Sunday.
After an active week with numerous severe storms, we start to calm down a bit in Colorado as we head into the weekend.
Large hail pummeled many areas in the northeast along with a deluge of very intense rain.
Heavy rain caused flooding near several of Colorado's burn scars on Tuesday.
A few rain showers are still possible on Monday evening, however most of the wet weather should be wrapped up for the firework shows across the Front Range.