Up to 30 inches of snow will hit Colorado’s mountains by Wednesday morning and the state will see more in a second storm starting Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
Two waves of snow are forecast for Colorado this week: one starting tonight and continuing through Wednesday morning and one that will span Thursday through the weekend, forecasters said in a Hazardous Weather Outlook.
As of Monday morning, snow total forecasts were only available through 6 a.m. Wednesday.
Little to no snow is expected to accumulate in metro Denver by Wednesday morning, according to those snow forecasts. Some areas on the south side of the metro area could see a dusting.
Other Monday morning snow forecasts include:
- Between 8 and 17 inches on U.S. 40’s Berthoud Pass, U.S. 6’s Loveland Pass, Vail Pass and at the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnels
- Between 5 and 11 inches at Winter Park and Keystone
- Between 6 and 16 inches of snow in northern Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, including Milner Pass Cameron Pass, Bear Lake, Trail Ridge Road and Rabbit Ears Pass
- Between 12 and 29 inches of snow on Mount Zirkel, the highest peak in the Park Range Mountains. The rest of the range is expected to see about 20 inches.
- Between 9 and 20 inches at Snowmass Ski Area
Forecasters said there will be a better chance of snow and rain showers across the state between Thursday and Saturday but how much precipitation Colorado will get during that second wave is still unknown.
Rain is forecast to start in the Denver area at about 5 a.m. Tuesday, mix with snow at about 3 p.m. and turn fully to snow by 6 p.m., according to NWS forecasters.
The city will see a mix of rain and snow start up again Wednesday night into Thursday. Forecasters said on-and-off snow will be likely from 12 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Thursday. There will be a lower chance of snow in the city on Friday but Denver snow showers are likely on Saturday.
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