Storm Update: Saturday April 18, 2009

Well, the storm came and left, dumping a tremendous amount of precip. So far, I have heard reports of 2" to nearly 4 feet!!! The heavier snowfalls occurred west of Denver and Boulder. Villages like PineCliffe, Rawlinsville and Nederland saw numbers in the 3-4 feet range, meanwhile, here in Lakewood, we saw maybe 8-12 inches depending. Today, we are digging out, amid the drizzling rain. The storm center has moved out and we should see partly cloudy later today and sun tomorrow and for the remainder of the week. I would speculate that this will have been one of the later heavy snow storms, certainly during my stay in Denver, since 1992. Have a great day and be safe...check the pine cam before you drive in the mountains! Good luck!

I-70 Closed - Morrison to Vail

I-70 WEST OF MORRISON TO VAIL, CO. Not much more to say, other than find a safe place to stay because this storm will go through the night. All local news services and www.weatherunderground are good resources. Be safe!

Local Weather Link - Denver/Colorado

http://www.kdvr.com/weather/

http://www.wunderground.com/radar/radblast.asp?zoommode=zoom&num=6&delay=15&scale=0.750&noclutter=0&ID=FTG&type=N0R&lat=39.69797897&lon=-105.15588379&label=Lakewood,%20CO&showstorms=0&map.x=144&map.y=207&centerx=477&centery=202&lightning=0&smooth0&showlabels=1&rainsnow=0

Denver's Stormy Forecast: "Cold Rain & Snow"

We got us a spring rain-slush-snowstorm! This storm was predicted and has lived up to the forecast...FINALLY! After a spate of incorrect storm and weather forecasts, this one is the big one. We tend to get what are called "upslope" storms, which tend to linger and they are notorious for dropping alot of precipitation. Temps have been in the 30s and dropping, so that innocent looking rain has and will turn into snow. Reports of over a foot have already been recorded and major traffic arteries have become parking lots (as I correctly predicted). With so many untrained snow and ice drivers out there, it's best to go home early and get off the road. I am including some pictures to give you an idea of snow falls so far in the Denver metro area.

Here is a very important link for anyone thinking about driving in the Colorado Rockies - always check conditions here:

http://www.pinecam.com/

ONE OF MY FAVORITE WEATHER LINKS!

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=80228

FINALLY, SOME WEATHER FOR DENVER

Finally! Some snow in Denver! While we are really liking the windy onslaught of spring, here, in the Rockies, we really needed the moisture. The front range was days away from a forest fire, IMHO, and with the wind howling up a storm everyday, it was clearly something nobody here wanted. I took some digital snapshots of the snow storm in Lakewood, CO 80228 so you can see that it is an actual blizzard here. As of 3:30 PM, it appears that we are clearing for a while - no word on how long, or if it's going to re-intensify.

As for driving, I would stay off the road! There are too many inexperienced drivers that think driving out on the snow and ice is as simple as having Santa's Reindeer pilot the dangerous icy roads. And, as you can see, the roads are littered with cars and trucks gridlocked to a stand-still; why spend an hour going to your favorite store that would normally take 5 minutes?

Snowstorms bring out the best in winter fashion! You should have seen me in my cowboy pimp getup! Truly, this is when you want to stack on the layers and look like a Mt. Everest adventurer!

Since we are already into late march, I doubt I will be covering many more snow storms, although, Father Cold is imposing his harsh will on us now to make up for the mild winter that we've had up until this point.

As a weather follower, I am expecting hail this spring, simply due to the fact that we have not had a serious storm since June, 2004. See my related blog: http://whatsyourroofingproblem.blogspot.com/

Look for periodic posts about weather that is memorable, so it becomes the topic of conversation here and at any given cocktail party.