Mountain West Discussion

[luminen]

Looks like a good snowstorm late Friday into Saturday for the Front Range will happen. 

[Black Hole]

I had .34" on Monday, looks like the lake will get going overnight along with upper level dynamics improving...could see some decent totals if it all works out. 

[Scott]

The weather in Colorado this season, especially when it comes to snowpack it seems, just can't make up it's mind.

 

The snow season started out very dry, went to extraordinarily wet and then to ext ordinarily dry.    Now it looks like it may shift to a wetter pattern again.

 

http://images.summitpost.org/original/997995.JPG

[Black Hole]

Picked up another .58" overnight, with another .1" or so coming before precip shuts off. Brief break before another storm hits tomorrow afternoon.

[Front Ranger]

Looks like a good snowstorm late Friday into Saturday for the Front Range will happen.

Spring finally behaving like Spring.

[Black Hole]

1.00" storm total now (liquid). Should be done until tomorrow. 

[Black Hole]

The next storm system is here and rain has begun. I think I will see perhaps 1/2" tonight of liquid. Another .1-.2" on Friday. 

[Front Ranger]

If DEN receives no more snow this season, 2016-17 will go down as their least snowy winter on record with 23.1". Previous record is 24.6", from 2010-11. Of course, that's a little misleading since the current location is less snowy than the previous airport which was further west. The lowest seasonal total for the old location was 26.7" from 1981-82.

 

As of right now, the storm Friday night/Saturday morning looks like it could bring 2-6" to the metro area, and likely save this winter from officially being the least snowy on record. However, a slight change in the track or speed of the ULL could decrease snow amounts...or increase.

[Kayla]

Little bit of a surprise snowstorm here last night. Picked up about 6" of new snow and still coming down. Looks like the snow should continue on and off throughout the day with additional snow tonight as well.

 

Currently 30º, can't believe it's almost May!

[Black Hole]

I've had some scattered snow/graupel showers off of the lake this morning but nothing too exciting. Ended up with about 1/3" of rain for this storm so far, but should see some more tonight. 

[Front Ranger]

Off and on rain showers here today. Under WSW for Friday night.

[Front Ranger]

4-8" predicted for tonight/tomorrow.

 

EDIT: 6-12" now.

[SilverFallsAndrew]

4-8" predicted for tonight/tomorrow.

 

EDIT: 6-12" now.

Nice!

[SilverFallsAndrew]

How much snow did you get Front Ranger?

[Kayla]

We picked up another 3" here yesterday giving me a 2 day snow total of 9".

 

Finally getting a dry day here today which have been on short supply this month. We've had measurable precip on 25 days this month.

 

Showers return tomorrow afternoon with another chance of a few inches of snow Monday night and Tuesday.

[Front Ranger]

I'm about five miles south of downtown Denver, and it looks like 4-5'' of snow fell here. The southern metro got upwards of 8'' and the foothills over a foot. Not bad for late April!

 

Yup, here in Westminster we kind of got screwed for the first part of the storm as there was heavy snow just a few miles south of where I am and nothing here, but now have about 4" on the ground. Still snowing lightly.

[Front Ranger]

Snow has picked up again here over the past hour. Up to 5", temp still just 31.

[Front Ranger]

Some interesting stats from yesterday. 

 

DEN set a record low max of 31. In fact, this is the coldest high on record this late. Next closest high below 32 is 4/19.

 

They also recorded 2.4" of snow, which while still less than the vast majority of the metro area, still means 2016-17 is no longer the least snowy season on record.

[Front Ranger]

First decent t-storm of the year just moved through, couple window-rattling cracks of thunder. Perfect timing, as I just finished mowing the lawn and now it's getting a nice soaking.

[Black Hole]

SLC will be up in the low 80s for a few days, probably the warmest weather so far this year. Looks like rain in the extended, but nothing too much for the next few days. 

[Front Ranger]

Frost advisory here tonight. Not record low territory (the record of 27 for today was actually set just last year), but fairly nippy for May with lows probably in the 32-35 range.

[epiceast]

Strong thunderstorms are in the forecast for me today. Will see if it verifies.

[Front Ranger]

Summer-type warmth today. Got up to 85 earlier, but now clouds have moved in and dropped to 83. Not quite record territory.

[Black Hole]

Very nice today. 77F and sunny. Looks like warm weather all week with scattered thunderstorms each day. SE flow tomorrow could bring some in off of the mountains.

[Front Ranger]

Managed to get a severe thunderstorm warning issued for Denver today. 62mph gust at DIA and tree damage across the metro. Tomorrow looks to be active as well. This is the most exciting the weather has been since I moved here last August.

I was out playing volleyball with some people and we left the park just as the storm was moving in. Was definitely not expecting such ferocity.

[Front Ranger]

I'm glad you left in time. This makes 2 days in a row that someone got struck by lightning in the metro area. With such low PoPs in place, it's no wonder people weren't prepared. Perhaps there was a bit more moisture in the lower levels than the NWS was expecting today? Tomorrow should be no joke, and I wouldn't be surprised to see some watches issued by the SPC.

 

Per the NWS, main threat today should be in the east metro area. All depends on where the boundary layer sets up. DPs right now in the mid 40s, so not especially moist.

 

Lots of potential for more storms/rain this week, great to see.

[Front Ranger]

Severe T-storm Watch issued, but with extensive cloud cover, I'm doubting we see the necessary heating to really set things off.

[Front Ranger]

Severe T-storm Watch issued, but with extensive cloud cover, I'm doubting we see the necessary heating to really set things off.

 

Nevermind...didn't need much heating I guess. Severe-warned storm with 2" hail heading straight towards my house. 

 

EDIT: Looks like the worst of it is missing just to the SE of my house. Wow, this one is bigger than the one yesterday.

 

At 321 PM MDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over northwestern

Denver, moving northeast at 25 mph.

 

HAZARD...Two inch hail and 70 mph wind gusts. Some short lived

funnels will also be possible.

 

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

 

IMPACT...People and animals outdoors will be injured. Expect hail

damage to roofs, siding, windows, and vehicles. Expect

considerable tree damage. Wind damage is also likely to

mobile homes, roofs, and outbuildings.

[Front Ranger]

A ton of hail damage across the metro area yesterday. Several coworkers have broken windshields, and one might have roof damage.

[Front Ranger]

That was quite a storm! Fortunately for my car, the hail core stayed a mile or two northwest of me as it moved through the metro. I'm thinking tomorrow will be a bit calmer, even with the ULL moving closer and plenty of moisture around. The atmosphere must be a bit worked over, and we'll probably be dealing with thicker stratus in the morning which would inhibit storm production.

 

 

Yeah, sometimes it works out like that, but other times the residual low level juice/moisture from the previous day's storms feeds into storms the next day.

 

DPs are running a bit higher this morning...

[Guest happ]

Great photos coming out of Denver recently

 

[Front Ranger]

Sweet timelapse of the storm moving into Denver yesterday: http://www.9news.com/weather/a-timelapse-of-weather-as-the-storm-moves-through-denver/437910028

[Dan the Weatherman]

Great photos coming out of Denver recently

That almost looks like snow, but I am assuming that is hail based on the reports I am reading here.

[Front Ranger]

Off and on light showers/heavy drizzle today. A total of .21" on the day, .97" for the week. 

[Black Hole]

There were some severe thunderstorms the other day but none hit my area. Some people saw quarter sized hail though.

Quiet weather for a few days then cooling off with some rain next week.

[luminen]

Denver has an amazing climate. It can be boring for long stretches but it really pays off eventually.

 

In 2015, four feet of hail fell on one block not too far from where I lived, which is similar to the hail storms Ecuador and Colombia get occasionally:

http://www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/20150605__IMG_1456p1.jpg?w=640

 

Spring/early summer 2015 was very enjoyable there. 

[Kayla]

Looks like some severe storms are possible late this afternoon and evening here. Freezing levels are super high right now (12,000'+) so likely just strong winds rather than large hail but we'll see what develops right along the front.

[Black Hole]

The cold front as quite sharp as it passed through Utah yesterday. Some areas fell 20F in 10 minutes, and from the 80s to the 30s this morning. Lots of areas also saw strong winds.

Looks like quite a storm will plow through here midweek. Models are showing snow, which is very rare this time of year. 

[Front Ranger]

The cold front as quite sharp as it passed through Utah yesterday. Some areas fell 20F in 10 minutes, and from the 80s to the 30s this morning. Lots of areas also saw strong winds.

 

Looks like quite a storm will plow through here midweek. Models are showing snow, which is very rare this time of year.

Yeah, looking like a potentially historic storm for some areas. Too soon to tell if it will be all rain here or some snow.

[Black Hole]

Yeah, looking like a potentially historic storm for some areas. Too soon to tell if it will be all rain here or some snow.

To some degree the latest projections are more reasonable with most models going for a trace-2" instead of 3-6" some had. Even so, pretty anomalous.