Denver Weather: Winter Storm Watch Issued, Snow And Wind Possible Starting Late Wednesday

DENVER (CBS4) - The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for a large part of northeast Colorado starting Wednesday night and lasting through Thursday. The watch includes the Front Range Foothills, Denver, Greeley, Boulder, Fort Collins, Castle Rock and the adjacent plains.

A dynamic spring-style storm will take shape over the Rocky Mountains of Colorado on Wednesday. Initially it could produce a few thunderstorms along with rain showers on the eastern plains. Then close to or after sunset snow is anticipated and it could be heavy at times.

Right now it looks like many areas along and east of Interstate 25 could see anywhere between 3-7 inches of snow but that forecast is still not confident and could easily change over the next 24 hours as the storm gets closer. Much higher totals will be possible in the foothills west of Denver.

Here's the setup - a large and slow moving storm system pulling out of southern California will bring moisture from the Pacific Ocean while eventually taping into moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, setting the stage to see a band of moderate to heavy snow somewhere along the east side of the Rockies.

As far as how much snow falls where, well, that will completely depend on the position and eventual track of a developing area of low pressure at the surface. Right now the best indications are that heavy snow is possible somewhere between Colorado Springs and Douglas, Wyoming. In addition to the snow this storm will produce strong and gusty wind that could create blizzard conditions in some areas.

The National Weather Service has already issued a blizzard warning (red areas on map below) for southeast Wyoming and western Nebraska. Remember a blizzard has nothing to do with snow amounts. It is the combination of high wind, blowing in excess of 35 miles per hour, and blowing snow creating visibility under a 1/4 mile for 3 hours or more.