Bust!
I would feel worse about forecasting 70° today and being so wrong if every meteorologist in the region did not do the same thing. It happens. I might also add, we still made it to 58° which is a very respectable 14° above normal for this time of year.

So what happened? Clouds, and lots of them. A mountain wave cloud setup early this morning due to moisture (well) above the surface, and rather than dissipating throughout the day, it just hung around. Without any sun we missed out on about 10 to 12 degrees of heating. It is a fairly typical scenario along the Front Range, but can be a rather difficult one to predict.

In other news, we finally have some snow moving back into the west, which should translate into some snow for the mountains beginning Thursday afternoon and through the weekend. There will be several disturbances pushing into the state over the next 4 - 7 days, with several having the potential to bring some good mountain snow.

For Denver. . . Still trying to hash the details regarding any snow potential. Models have been all over the place over the last week, as is usually the case. There is a chance we see some precip Saturday evening, then again Monday night into Tuesday, but at this point neither system is looking all that plentiful for northeast Colorado. We will see how things come together over the next few days. Stay tuned!

Record highs possible in the Denver metro area Wednesday
The record high of 69° for January 23 set in 1981 could be in jeopardy tomorrow as Chinook winds continue to bring above normal temperatures to Colorado's Front Range. In the Brendan's Weather outdoor lab this afternoon we reached 66°, and I suspect we could be one of several locations in Denver to break 70° Wednesday.

The *heatwave* we are experiencing is in stark contrast to the cold settling in across the upper Midwest and Northeast. Take a look at what the North American Model is forecasting for temperatures at 4pm EST tomorrow (below). Widespread highs in the teens and 20s, with highs below 0 in portions of New England. Source: WeatherBell

We are absolutely hurting for snow. On the season, we remain at 13.8", well below our normal of 26" for late January. Since the end of last February, Denver has only received 14.8" of snow, normally between March and January Denver receives 50.4" of snow. If it feels like it has not snowed in forever, it hasn't.

The state's snowpack, which received a much needed bump in December also continues to struggle. According to the NRCS, the north-central Colorado mountain snowpack is at the second lowest level to date in 34 years. Source: NRCS

Dry and unseasonable warm temperatures will continue through the weekend. The coolest day of the next five will be Friday, with a high near 50° F.

Models start to diverge a bit next week as we finally have a chance for active weather moving back into the state. That is a long way out, and with how things have gone this winter it makes little sense to even speculate at this point - but let us hope for some snow!

While it has certainly been cold over the last few days, what Denver really needs is some snow. What are the chances we see some in the next 7 - 14 days? Dismal. The GFS produces a total of 0.02" of precipitation for Denver over the next 16 days, both hundredths are in the forecast for tonight, and not looking likely.

The cold across the region has been impressive. According to the National Weather Service in Boulder, Denver spent the last 100 hours below 32° F. This is well short of the record of 333 hours set in 1980, but a substantial bout of cold nonetheless. Here are a couple other impressive lows from this morning from around the state:

• Craig -32° F
• Steamboat Springs -22° F
• Grand Junction -12° F
• Gunnison -31° F
• Durango -21° F

Alamosa, Colorado, repeatedly set the mark for the lowest temperature in the contiguous U.S. last week, the lowest of which was -34° F. According to the Chieftain, Alamosa has seen 11 days this winter where lows fell below -20°.

Tomorrow begins a nice warming trend for Denver and the Front Range. Highs are expected to be back in the 40s under mostly sunny skies. Highs in the 40s will remain in the forecast well into next week, with a couple of 50s not out of the question for the end of this week.

I will leave you with this image of our Snow Tracker (interactive above) showing just how incredibly poor this season has been to date. At 13.8" on the season, if Denver receives no snow between now and the end of the month, the city will be 14" *below* normal, or just 49% of average.

As noted in my previous post, this warmup will be short lived. Despite every kind of letdown this winter has lent itself, much colder weather still seems on track for Friday. The catch, however, is that the snow may be harder to find. What is new?

The latest ECMWF has all but erased snow from the forest in Denver Friday, keeping most of the accumulating snow west and north of the city (right). While the 12Z GFS continued to hang on to hopes for a couple of inches of snow in Denver Friday/night, I suspect tonight's runs will follow the current downward trend. Not all that shocked given how this season has gone, and a continued unfavorable storm track, but disappointing nonetheless.

The cold that has everyone talking appears to still be on the way. If you are wondering what the temperature will be like for game time Saturday, just take a look at the GFS below, cold. The cold will have already moved through the region Friday, leaving behind temperatures well below average. While the GFS might be a bit overdone, the temperature at the start of the Broncos game could very well be in the teens.

The cold will stick with us through at least Tuesday. Daytime highs will be in the 20s, with overnight lows in the single digits to around 0. Next week looks mainly dry, with the exception of some on and off again snow in the mountains. The chilly pattern will persist, eventually making its way all the way to the east coast.

The frustration continues. One day, it might even snow.