As many of you who follow the blog know, I am also the co-founder of FreshyMap, a snow report based on real-time snow data.

Ten days ago we kicked off a mini campaign for our limited addition "be a powder ninja" FreshyMap shirts - and with a few short hours to go, I thought I would give the Brendan's Weather crowd a chance to check them out! You can reserve your shirts from Teespring.

As of the publish time of this post, there are only 10 hours 30 minutes left in this campaign, so the time is now!

Upslope!

Snow has been falling steadily for several hours across metro Denver, with just over 5" so far in the city. Many locations already reporting more than that across the region. Snow will continue today, heavy at times, with widespread totals of 6 - 12" possible. Eastern Colorado, and the adjacent foothills remain under the gun, where >12" will not be out of the question. The eternal optimist among us will be very happy with his forecast, as am I!

Here is some video from around town this morning. As we have been warning all week, this storm is very cold, so snow packed and icy roads will be an issue through the day. If you must venture out, please take it slow and be safe!


The cold will stick with us through Monday, with another chance for snow Sunday evening!

White out conditions at World Cup qualifier in Denver Little changes to the forecast tonight. Snow has moved into northeast Colorado this evening, making national headlines with the World Cup qualifier in Denver being broadcast on ESPN. Certainly an exciting game, and one folks will remember for years to come!

The National Weather Service upgraded the Winter Weather Advisory to a Winter Storm Warning just after 9pm tonight. They have upped their forecast from 4 - 8" inches to 6 - 12" through 6pm Saturday. I maintain that our broad-brushed 4 - 8 inches forecast earlier this morning stands, with 3 -6" more likely within central Denver. Locations east of Denver, as we have been noting for days, could certainly do better. Models continue to produce 15" for portions of northeast Colorado. I will caution, and continue to caution, that this heavy snow tonight does not mean we are certain to break the 10" mark, but as Matt pointed out tonight, certainly better upslope being shown at this time. Josh continues to like the higher end totals, certainly not impossible, but I remain on the lower end. I maintain that some west of I-25 will feel robbed by this system.

Below (left) is the 12z NAM, shows plenty of snow for northeast Colorado through Saturday night. Right is the position of the surface low 12z Saturday - a *bit* better than we have seen to date.

Position of surface low 12z SatNAM Continues to produce ~10" in Denver

Yesterday afternoon I posted a rather lengthy explanation of my reserves regarding high-end snowfall potential for Denver tonight and Saturday. This morning this still remains relevant, we will be fighting downsloping and a quick moving storm, which *could* equate to snow totals on the lower end, especially west of I-25 in Denver tomorrow.

All that being said, the 12z model suite continues to be quite consistent and insistent on ~0.8" QPF for Denver tomorrow, which if that fell would equal at least 8" of snow, given potential for higher snow ratios with cold temps. Accounting for the lack in confidence in us actually seeing this much QPF, will go ahead and broad-brush totals for metro Denver at 4 - 8" with locally higher amounts possible. Some more pinpoint numbers below:

Eastern plains: 5 - 10+" with locally higher amounts. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for these locations east and northeast of Denver, which goes into effect 9pm tonight, and continues through the day Saturday. The far eastern plains will very likely see the worst of this storm, and wind will almost certainly be an issue.

Denver: Still liking closer to 3 - 7" in Denver proper, with higher totals east of I-25, south/southeast suburbs, and again west of the city as you go up in elevation. No highlights issued at this time, but would not be surprised to at least see an advisory issued today if the forecast holds.

Palmer Divide: 4 - 8" with locally higher amounts, especially down near Monument where a Winter Storm Watch remains in effect for the potential of snowfall in excess of 8 inches.

Northern Suburbs: Still expecting snow totals to taper off as you head north of Denver due to slightly more downslope. Generally 2 - 6", with the higher end east of I-25 (favoring Greeley as opposed to Fort Collins, for example).

Timing:
Light rain or a rain/snow mix should begin to develop as we head into the early evening hours today; however, any liquid precipitation should change to all snow by midnight tonight, with widespread snow developing as we head into the early morning hours Saturday. Snow will continue through much of the day Saturday, heavy at times. Temperatures will drop into the low-to-mid 20s overnight tonight, and likely will not go much higher than that Saturday.

Snow will diminish by Saturday evening, with cold temperatures setting in across the region. Low teens and even some single digit lows will be possible through Tuesday morning across northeast Colorado. Highs Sunday will be in the 20s with snow showers possible across the forecast area.

Will post any updates as necessary! Still several hours and more data to ingest before the snow starts to fly! As always, please subscribe to receive all the latest updates from Brendan's Weather delivered to your inbox!