Chances for a white Christmas in the Denver metro area appear to be melting away as temperatures in the high 30s on Friday could turn earlier light snowfall into a memory, and a weak round of snow showers on Saturday night promise less than an inch of accumulation before sunny skies and highs near 40 arrive Sunday and Monday.
“It’s not looking great for the snow to survive the next three days,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Russell Danielson in Boulder. “We’re not going to get much out of the next storm — if you even call it a storm.”
But the northern mountains around Rabbit Ears Pass, Rocky Mountain National Park and the Medicine Bow Range will get hit much harder by a system coming through the state on Saturday. Accumulations of 8-14 inches, with some areas getting as much as 20 inches, are expected, along with winds that could hit 50-55 mph.
That mountain snow is expected to start around 2 a.m. Saturday and carry through 11 a.m., with the high winds creating blowing and drifting snow conditions. More mountain snow could arrive later next week.
“With the storm (Thursday) and tomorrow, it’ll be a good boost to the snow pack,” Danielson said. “I’m not sure if it will bring us quite back up to normal yet, but maybe later next week we’ll get closer to normal.”
Meanwhile, the Denver area was expecting a low of 21 Friday night, with highs in the upper 30s on Saturday. Sunday looks sunny with a high of 38 and Monday, Christmas Day, should bring more sunny skies and a high of 39.
