DENVER – Mild and dry weather will persist through Friday in the Denver metro, so those hoping for a snowy Thanksgiving will be out of luck this year.
Friday will bring mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies with highs in the upper 50s to low 60s across the region.
Another cold front will descend upon northern Colorado Friday night into Saturday morning, bringing the “coldest air so far this season” with highs in the upper 20s to mid-30s for Saturday and Sunday, NWS forecasters said.
As of Wednesday, it has been 221 days since snow fell in Denver, which is the 4th longest period, and it looks like that stretch will soon come to an end.
“Our weekend storm headed this way will bring much cooler air and also bring in chances for snow,” said Denver7 meteorologist Stacey Donaldson.
While still several days away, Denver7’s Futurecast shows snow is expected to roll across the I-25 corridor this weekend and will most likely mark the first official snow in Denver this season.
The first shot of snow is expected overnight Friday into Saturday morning and then another potential brief round Sunday evening.
“Snow picks up early Saturday morning as the front goes through and we’ll also have a chance for snow in the higher elevations, early in the morning Sunday,” added Donaldson. “By 7 o’clock Sunday night, we have chances for more snow across the eastern plains.” Though the system will be quick-moving, it will lead to light snowfall amounts in the Denver metro, with Lafayette and Lakewood expected to receive about an inch of snow, while Denverites should expect between a trace amount and 1 inch of accumulation, according to the NWS.
The longest stretch of snowless days Denver has ever seen was 232 days in 2021, which also marked the latest first snow of the season. That year, snow finally fell at the official reporting station at Denver International Airport on December 10.
“There`s still a slight chance the snowless streak for Denver continues if the trough doesn`t dig as far south as the operational models show,” NWS forecasters warned on Wednesday.
Those in the western and Central Colorado mountains over the Thanksgiving weekend should prepare for a second round of snow beginning Sunday morning and lasting through the day.
“There is still some minor disagreements on timing, strength and track of these systems both among the models, and from run-to-run of the models,” though, according to NWS forecasters in Grand Junction, but weather service officials said “There`s a chance for snow east of the mountains as well Sunday afternoon into Sunday night.
Here are ‘expected’ snow amounts through Saturday from the NWS, which does not include any possible snow on Sunday.
- Arvada: Trace to 2”
- Aurora: Trace to 1”
- Berthoud Pass: 3” to 7”
- Brighton: Trace to 1”
- Boulder: 0.5” to 2”
- Broomfield: 0.5” to 2”
- Castle Rock: Trace to 1”
- Centennial: 0.5” to 1”
- Denver: Trace to 1”
- DIA: 0.5 to 1”
- Fort Collins: 0.5” to 1”
- Golden: 0.5 to 2”
- Highlands Ranch: 0.5 to 1”
- Idaho Springs: 0.5” to 3”
- Lakewood: 0.5” to 2”
- Littleton: 0.5” to 1”
- Longmont: 0.5” to 1”
- Loveland Pass: 2” to 6”
- Parker: T to 2”
As of Wednesday, there are no winter weather watches in effect and Denver7 will update these potential snow totals later in the week.
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