A big spring storm is set to impact the mountains of northern Colorado during the latter half of this week but what’s really remarkable are the snow totals currently projected for Rocky Mountain National Park.
Right now NOAA is forecasting Longs Peak, the prominent 14’er within the park, to see upwards of 30″ of fresh snow by Friday. With all that new snow on a melt/freeze crust, you can bet on avalanche conditions being very gamey in the immediate future.
Showers and thunderstorms will become more widespread this afternoon and evening. A few storms may become severe on the plains this afternoo pic.twitter.com/ZDzuMHdQ5s
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) May 2, 2018
NOAA FORECAST:
Winter Storm Warning
…HEAVY SNOW EXPECTED OVER PARTS OF THE NORTHERN COLORADO MOUNTAINS THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING…
A Spring storm system is expected to move over Colorado today and tonight, which will bring heavy snow to the northern Colorado mountains. This storm is forming late in the season and will be moving out of the southwestern United States. Therefore, snow levels will start out quite high and then drop as the storm moves overhead. The storm will also contain high amounts of
moisture which will combine with mild temperatures to produce a heavy, wet snow with high water content. The storm system will move out of the state Thursday afternoon with mountain snowfall decreasing through the day.
Locations: Rocky Mountain National Park and the Medicine Bow Range-
Including the cities of Cameron Pass, Laramie and Medicine Bow Mountains, Rabbit Ears Range, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Willow Creek Pass
…WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO NOON MDT THURSDAY…
* WHAT…Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 8 to 12
inches, with localized amounts up to 20 inches.
* WHERE…Rocky Mountain National Park and the Medicine Bow Range.
* WHEN…From noon today to noon MDT Thursday.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…Plan on difficult travel conditions. Expect significant reductions in visibility at times.