Author: Ben Castellani (Page 50 of 358)

Ben grew up in southwestern Pennsylvania and holds both a bachelor's and a master's degree in Meteorology, the latter being from CU Boulder. His hometown received nearly three feet of snow from the Storm of the Century back in March of 1993, sparking his initial interest in impactful weather. Ben currently works on remote sensing and data analysis software at NV5 Geospatial Software in Boulder.

Premium BoulderCAST Daily – Thu 01/01/25| A cool & sunny start to 2025, plus a look at last night’s rogue snow shower and viewable Northern Lights

Well, we had a bit of excitement across the area last night thanks to a small, rogue snow shower in the northern Metro that spawned to create very slick travel from southeast Boulder to Westminster to Thornton to DIA during the evening hours. This snow shower basically surfed atop of weak mid-level cold front for a couple hours dropping up …

Premium Storm Update – Mon 12/30/24 7:00AM | Widespread gusts over 40 MPH today will create elevated fire danger, but nothing too crazy as the latest data suggests lessened impacts

Westerly winds will quickly ramp up Monday morning with widespread gusts of 40 to 60 MPH expected across much of eastern Colorado today. While the latest model runs have indeed weakened the forecasted winds somewhat, fire danger will definitely be elevated through the day. We review the latest model data and provide an update on how the high winds, Mountain snow, and fire risk will unfold on Monday.

NOTE: Due to the ongoing weather event, our usual weekly outlook forecast will be posted on Tuesday this week. Check back then for a broader outlook of the next five days.

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Premium This Weekend in Colorado Weather: Moist northwest flow produces on-and-off Mountain snow, but mostly dry & mild for the lower elevations

Yesterday was only the second Christmas in recorded history with Boulder reporting exclusively measurable rainfall, but not a single snowflake. That last and only prior occurrence of a rainy Christmas was way back in 1942. https://twitter.com/BoulderCAST/status/1872054051107717333 Be careful out there this morning as skies have mostly cleared overnight with temperatures dropping several degrees below freezing. Everything that was wet from …

Winter Weather Update: Christmas rain/snow showers develop after 3PM in the western Metro area, a few slushy inches possible in the Foothills

After days and days of warm and dry weather, things in the Front Range are taking an interesting turn right in time for Christmas. A trough of low pressure is moving into the Four Corners area right now with a mix of clouds and sunshine out ahead of it. Later in the day, a cold front will move through from the northeast leading to scattered showers spawning across the western Metro area. Mostly rain is expected for the lower elevations which will be largely too warm, but Foothills communities could pick up a few slushy inches this evening to nab a white Christmas after all! We discuss a bit of Christmas climatology for Boulder, the weather setup at hand today, the latest timing of the rain/snow showers, and just how much accumulation may fall this evening and where.

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Premium BoulderCAST Daily – Tue 12/24/24 | A mild & sunny Christmas Eve, but a chance for late-day rain/snow showers on Christmas Day after 3PM

The weak shortwave disturbance that moved through overnight brought a wave of light snowfall to the Mountains. It wasn't a lot of snow, but it was unsurprisingly enough to close down I-70 at a few of the passes due to slick roads and copious Christmas collisions. Several ski resorts are reporting 2-4" of snow overnight, with Loveland leading the way. …

This Week in Colorado Weather: December 23, 2024

This week’s weather in the Front Range will see a shift from the recent unseasonably warm temperatures to cooler conditions, with periodic light snow expected in the Mountains throughout the week. While a white Christmas is unlikely for the Denver Metro area, there will be a slight chance of rain or snow showers Wednesday evening and night. The late-week period will remain active with several disturbances bringing more light snow to the Mountains, but the lower elevations around Boulder and Denver will stay mostly dry with mild temperatures. We also look ahead to next week when we’ll likely see a longer-term transition to much colder and snowier weather for the New Year.

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Premium This Weekend in Colorado Weather: Persistent unseasonable warmth for six more days, but is there hope for a little snow on Christmas?

The overnight downslope windstorm evolved mostly as expected, with peak wind gusts over 65MPH across a large portion of the Foothills to the west, with peak gusts over 75 MPH in some parts of Boulder County. An impressive gradient in the strong winds set-up immediately adjacent to the Foothills. For example, the NCAR Mesa Lab in far southwest Boulder saw …

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