Today will bring the best chance of precipitation for the week to the Front Range as a small but potent wave treks across western Colorado.

The 500 mb vorticity map below shows a autumn-like trough digging into the Pacific Northwest (big “L”), and also the small wave moving through Utah and western Colorado tonight (little “L”). Moisture in eastern Colorado, especially at the lower levels, will be fairly low today and tonight. The bulk of the precipitation will remain in western Colorado and Wyoming.  However,  there will be a decent chance of storms today across the Metro area…maybe 20% between 3PM and midnight this evening as the disturbance approaches.  Highs will be cooler today in the low to middle 80’s with mostly cloudy skies developing by afternoon.

This big trough across the Northwest is actually cold enough for snow in the higher elevations of western Wyoming and Montana! Those wondering when snowfall may return to our Mountains should keep an eye on the middle of next week as ensembles are coming into agreement for an even colder and deeper trough developing across the West…

LEFT: 500 mb height anomaly for the middle of next week from the ECMWF. RIGHT: GFS ensemble 850 mb temperature anomaly

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Ben Castellani

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 L3Harris Technologies in Boulder.

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