With a howling Arctic snowstorm headed toward Colorado on Wednesday, the National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for most cities along the Front Range, including Denver and much of the Eastern Plains.
Forecasters say the blizzard could be life-threatening if people are caught in the storm.
The weather bulletin was issued midday Tuesday for the period between noon Wednesday and noon Thursday, spanning an area from Fort Collins to Castle Rock on the west and from east of Limon to the northeast corner of Colorado.
“We want people to understand that the impacts of the storm are going to be great,” said Kari Bowen, NWS meteorologist. “You’re going to see near zero visibility during the blizzard.”
Here's the latest overview and snow/wind forecasts on the powerful Spring Storm headed for northeast Colorado. #COwx pic.twitter.com/TghNumWIcY
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) April 9, 2019
Between 4 and 8 inches of snow is expected along the Front Range, Bowen said. Sustained winds of 35 mph or above over a period of three hours or more are expected, she added. Winds will gust up to 60 mph in some locations, Bowen said. Visibility will be a quarter mile or less, she said.
If possible, people should leave work early to avoid dangerous travel conditions during the evening commute Wednesday and be very cautious during the morning commute on Thursday, she said.
With Tuesday’s near record-breaking warmth, Denverites are about to experience summer and winter over the span of one day. Along the way, a few longstanding weather records could be broken.
On Tuesday, the high could tie or break a heat record. The NWS is forecasting a high of 80 degrees, which is one degree lower than the record of 81 degrees, set 42 years ago in 1977.
On Wednesday, the high temperature will be 50 degrees, forecasters say. That would shatter a record set 123 years ago in 1896 when the high on April 10 was 55 degrees, considered the “lowest high temperature” on record in Denver for that date, according to the weather service.
And it will only be that warm for a short amount of time at around 9 a.m. Temperatures will then plummet to 32 degrees, or 23 degrees lower than the highest temperature all day on April 10, 1896.
What a difference a day makes.
On Wednesday afternoon, rain and thunderstorms are possible in the morning. A sharp temperature change in the afternoon will turn the rain into snow, Bowen said.
Winter storm Wednesday and Thursday. Stay tuned into the latest information. Consider alternate plans for Wednesday into Thursday. #cowx pic.twitter.com/NZl80wFqvV
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) April 9, 2019
Temperatures will drop to about 24 degrees Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
There’s a 30 percent chance snow will continue until about noon on Thursday, the NWS says. The high temperature in Denver will be about 39 degrees Thursday. Winds will gust up to 37 mph. The low-temperature Thursday night will be around 21 degrees.
A slow warm-up will begin on Friday when the high will be around 41 degrees. There’s a slight chance for rain after 9 p.m., the NWS says.
Temperatures will rise to 47 degrees on Saturday, 61 on Sunday and 67 by Monday, the weather service says.
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