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UPDATED: The Next Storm/Next Snow Forecast Discussion from the Cherrywood Observatory – February 11 , 2018

This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

Forecast Discussion:

Sunday AM Update:

Figure 4 is the snowfall reports map from CoCoRaHS.  I drew some quick and dirty isohyets (line of equal precipitation - snowfall in this case). The 2 inch line cut Longmont in half.  Parts of Boulder reached 5 inches of snow (Figure 4).

Ft Collins received 1.5-2 inches of snow. Berthoud about 1.5 inches. Estes Park only 1-1.5 inches (in the reports submitted by midday; Figure 5). North Denver was also low in the 1-2 inch area while the southern side of the Metro picked up a much nicer 3-5 inches (Figure 6).

Figure 4: CoCoRaHS snowfall reports as of 7am today (Sunday). Blue lines are the 2, 3 and 4 inch contours based on this data. This is Boulder County.

Figure 5: CoCoRaHS snowfall reports as of 7am today (Sunday). This is Larimer County.

Figure 6: CoCoRaHS snowfall reports as of 7am today (Sunday). This is the Denver Metro.

Previous Forecast:

The current storm is underway, so this discussion will be brief.  I'll upload Sunday morning snowfall report maps as an update midday Sunday.

Figure 1 shows that the models are still expecting one more burst of snow in the early evening before skies clear Saturday night.  From my latest look at the radar - I don't see this band of snow upstream anywhere.  Figure 2 is the rapid update model HRRR and snow through Sunday morning. Longmont is on the edge of 0 to 1/2 inch more.  The main activity has shifted south.

Figure 1: 10 day graphical forecast for Longmont from weatherunderground.com - next three 'storms' circled in pink.

Figure 2: The total snowfall forecast from Saturday midday to Sunday early morning from the HRRR model and weather5280.com

The longer range forecast:

Figure 1 shows the weather 10 days out... there are low chances of precipitation Monday, but temperatures go quite low for a day.  We see chances of snow/rain Thursday into Friday and again Sunday into Monday. Only the most distant storm looks significant (and we know what usually happens- this year- to good looking model-storms). Figure 3 reflects that idea by giving us a total of about 8 inches of snow over the next 10 days.  I would be really surprised to see that much occur out of these next three unsettled periods. (Nice snow in the mountains though!).

Figure 3: The total snowfall forecast from Saturday midday to Feb 20th - 10 days out fom the GFS model and weather5280.com

Current Weather

Mostly sunny

Mostly sunny

77°F

UV Index
9 Very High
Pressure
29.81 Falling
Visibility
8 miles
Dewpoint
35 °F
Humidity
22%
Wind
WNW 6.3 mph
Gust
13.9 mph
Wind Chill
77 °F

Hourly Forecast

Today
2 PM
77°F
Mostly sunny
Today
3 PM
78°F
Mostly sunny
Today
4 PM
78°F
Mostly sunny
Today
5 PM
78°F
Mostly sunny
Today
6 PM
76°F
Mostly sunny
Today
7 PM
75°F
Mostly sunny
Today
8 PM
71°F
Mostly sunny
Today
9 PM
68°F
Mostly clear
Today
10 PM
65°F
Mostly clear
Today
11 PM
62°F
Mostly clear
Tomorrow
12 AM
59°F
Mostly clear
Tomorrow
1 AM
57°F
Mostly clear

7 Day Forecast

Partly sunny w/ showers

Sunday

79 °F

A couple of brief showers late this morning; partly sunny


Mostly clear

Sunday Night

50 °F

Breezy this evening; otherwise, mainly clear


Partly sunny w/ t-storms

Monday

73 °F

Not as warm with clouds and sunshine; a thunderstorm in spots in the afternoon


Thunderstorms

Monday Night

47 °F

Cloudy with a couple of thundershowers


Thunderstorms

Tuesday

59 °F

Mostly cloudy and cooler with a couple of showers and a thunderstorm, mainly later


Partly cloudy

Tuesday Night

34 °F

Partly cloudy and colder


Partly sunny

Wednesday

73 °F

Partly sunny, pleasant and warmer


Mostly clear

Wednesday Night

40 °F

Mainly clear


Partly sunny

Thursday

82 °F

Warmer with partial sunshine


Mostly cloudy

Thursday Night

44 °F

Mostly cloudy


Sunrise and Sunset

Sunrise
5:41 AM
Sunset
8:14 PM

Based on AccuWeather data