The calendar may say mid-April, but we have our eyes on a system that may produce significant snowfall for the Rocky Mountains, including the Denver metro area this week.
The culprit is a sharp southward plunge of the jet stream which will drive into the Northwest Monday, then the northern Rockies and Great Basin Tuesday, bringing lowering snow levels to the Cascades, Bitterroots and Wasatch, not to mention high winds to the Great Basin.
Winter Alerts
Tuesday Night Forecast
(INTERACTIVE MAPS: Winter Alerts | Wind Alerts)
Snow will blanket the Cascades through Tuesday and will spread into the northern Rockies and Wasatch Tuesday and Tuesday night, persisting in parts of the Wasatch through Wednesday.
At this time, we expect the heaviest accumulations to remain in the Wasatch and adjacent benches of Utah, with only light snow accumulations - particularly on grassy areas - expected in lower elevations of the Salt Lake Valley.
(FORECAST: Salt Lake City)
Wednesday Night Forecast
Forecast Snowfall Totals
With the jet stream dip, or trough, carving southward into the Four Corners Region providing mid-level moisture and instability, plus moist winds blowing upslope from the Plains toward the Front Range, the stage is set for locally heavy snow in the mountains and foothills of Colorado and northern New Mexico.
In fact, this snow may persist for several days due to the sluggish movement of what may become a closed upper-level low near the Four Corners.
(MAPS: 10-Day Forecast)
Parts of the foothills and mountains west and south of Denver, west and north of Colorado Springs and west of Pueblo will likely pick up over a foot of snow through the end of this week. Some totals up to 2 feet or even more aren't out of the question.
Some one-foot-plus totals are also likely in the Sange de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico.
There will likely be a huge gradient in snowfall due to marginal surface temperatures and rather warm ground in the Denver metro area. The highest totals will be in the western, southwestern and southern foothills with the least snowfall toward the northeast.
With that said, travel may become difficult headed west out of Denver into the foothills and high country on Interstate 70 by Wednesday night into Thursday. Heavy snow may also lead to difficult travel over the Palmer Divide between Denver and Colorado Springs on and also over Raton Pass on Interstate 25.
While it may seem rather late for a snowstorm, keep in mind that snow can fall well into the spring in these areas.
Winter Storm Zephyr brought snow to Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico during the second week of May.
According to Alaska meteorologist Brian Brettschneider, April is the snowiest month, on average, in several locations in the Rockies and High Plains.
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