Big Weather Changes Early Next Week
DENVER (CBS4) - Storms and rain in Colorado will quickly clear tonight. A few severe thunderstorms fired up on the eastern plains, but most of the bigger storms popped up in Kansas. A few storms near Parker and east Denver produced some small hail, and DIA had wind gusts over 50 mph.
We are looking at a fabulous weekend with highs close to 80 degrees on Saturday! Get outside and enjoy the sunshine, it will be our warmest day for awhile.
Sunday should be another gorgeous day with temperatures in the mid 70s and more sunshine. Late at night, the changes begin. Rain and snow will move into northern Colorado, with rain possible in Denver late in the evening/early Saturday morning. Then as much colder air invades from the northwest, the rain will change to snow and at this time we expect the snow to continue through the Monday morning commute.
Accumulation will be directly related to the speed of the storm (obviously the faster the storm is moving the less snow we'll get). But based on the data available now, it appears the storm will be moving very quickly. Therefore we expect only 1-3 inches of snow in metro Denver and perhaps up to 10 inches for some mountain areas. Tree damage is possible, because this likely will be wet, heavy snow. If you can, try to knock the snow off trees on Monday to prevent any damage.
The snow is only one part of the store. Monday we will only reach the upper 30s! It will be a chilly day in Colorado. Overnight into Tuesday, we'll have our first hard freeze along the Front Range.
Remember to winterize everything this weekend while it's nice! Sprinkler systems, hoses, hose bibbs, swamp cooler, etc, etc!
Watch meteorologist Lauren Whitney on CBS4 News on weekday evenings at 5, 6, 6:30 p.m. Check out her bio, connect with her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @LaurenCBS4.
