Don't put those snow scrapers away just yet.
Updated on Wednesday, February 12, at 1:50 p.m.:
There's a chance for snow again tonight. This will be very similar to the setup on Monday when it started snowing around 4 p.m. and continued through midnight.
Denver has officially received 10.8 inches of snow in February so far, which puts us in the Top 5 for snowiest starts to February on record. We can all agree that there was most likely more than that in many of the Western Suburbs—Lakewood, for instance, has received 14.7 inches; Evergreen, in the Foothills, has received 25 inches; and Boulder has seen 17.7 inches this month already.
The last time we started February with this much snow was back in 1993. So, yeah, it's been snowy.
So, what can we expect tonight into tomorrow? Well, this is actually a tricky forecast. Models aren't showing much for the area in terms of widespread snow, but the conditions are favorable for a few inches. We have a weak disturbance riding down along the Jet Stream, providing some of the force needed to get some snow showers going this afternoon. Ahead of that, a cold front will move through and bring winds that will push against the mountains from the east. This will provide the upslope component of our storm today.
On top of that, literally, way up in the Jet Stream, there's a localized area of very fast winds, known as a Jet Streak, that will provide additional development of snow. So, combining all of this into a forecast, we come out with quite a span of possibilities.
Winter Weather Advisory now issued for the Denver Metro and surrounding areas for 1-5" of snow.
— Andy Stein (@AndySteinWx) February 12, 2020
This goes through 11pm tonight.#Denver #WinterWeather #Snow #Colorado #COwx pic.twitter.com/wwVfL9XZ1H
With snow starting to fly around 1-4 p.m. for the Foothills and Palmer Ridge, and snow starting around 3-6 p.m. for the Denver metro, there's the possibility of a slower commute this evening. Roads should mostly remain wet until sunset, because that's when the snow will begin to stick more widespread to the roadways.
Snow will be pretty consistent and light throughout the evening and first half of tonight, but there will be varying intensities. Most areas around the Denver metro will get between 1-5 inches of snow. The higher amounts will be seen in the western and southern suburbs, with those along the foothills of Boulder and Jefferson counties will see more like 3-7 inches.
Snow is expected to develop across the Front Range Urban Corridor later this afternoon & continue into the evening. 1-4" of accumulation is expected by midnight. This will result in a hazardous evening commute, especially across Metro Denver. Stay tuned for later updates. #cowx pic.twitter.com/McmnZQcM9O
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) February 12, 2020
Since we have enough moisture and a couple of different forcing mechanisms in place to produce more snow, there will be some convective nature to these snow showers. Think of summertime convection, it creates local areas of thunderstorms and heavy rain. We could have something similar to that tonight with the snow showers. It's possible that the Denver metro ends up with 3-6 inches of snow and some areas along with the foothills exceed 10 inches, but there's also the possibility that those kinds of totals won't happen.
Now, you're probably asking, what does the rest of the week into the weekend look like?
There are some minor chances of snow between now and Saturday, excluding the one that you've been reading about, and then there are signs of a more potent storm coming possibly by Sunday, possibly by Tuesday. The models haven't latched on to anything substantial, so, for now, don't worry about it.
Temperatures over the next 10 days will probably be below average.
— Andy Stein (@AndySteinWx) February 12, 2020
With a couple of more chances of snow coming, don't expect the current snow to disappear any time soon. #Denver #Colorado #COwx #Weather pic.twitter.com/ORDAvW7Qmg
Temperatures will stay below average over the next 10 days, as well.
Enjoy the snowy pattern! We are loving it. How do you feel about the snow so far this February? Let us know in the comments below.