Heavy Snow Heading For High Country

By Lauren Whitney
DENVER (CBS4) -What a warm day in Denver! We almost hit 80 degrees here downtown, with a high of 77! Last year at this time we had very similar temperatures, we hit 80 degrees on this day one year ago. All this warmth was all ahead of a powerful cold front heading for Colorado.

Snow will really get going overnight into Friday. We have several Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories for our mountains through Saturday thanks to this powerful front. Travel will be tough when you add in some very strong winds with all that snow. Areas near the tunnels could see 6 to 10 inches of snow, while Vail and nearby areas could pick up 8 to 14 inches. Our northwestern mountains will really see it pile up, where 2 feet of snow is possible near Rabbit Ears Pass.

In the southwest Colorado the San Juan Mountains are under a Winter Weather Advisory for 6-12" around Telluride, Lake City, and Ouray. The Leadville area is also under an advisory for 4-8" of snow.

Snow could continue through Saturday in the mountains, but it would be very light. Here in Denver, we'll be in the 40s with a breeze  on Saturday.

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.