Denver: Snowstorm, Dramatic Change to Cold in Store

Another blast of cold air will charge southward across the Plains this week, which will lead to more spring snow for Denver.

With daytime highs in the 80s expected through Monday, new residents and visitors in Denver are in for a shock.

The combination of the cold air, the right wind direction and a storm tracking just to the south will set up a snow situation for Denver and vicinity late Tuesday into Wednesday.

Enough snow can fall to make for slushy and difficult travel conditions along stretches of I-25, I-70 and I-80 in the region. However, there is the potential for enough snow to fall to shut down some sections of these highways.

AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Erik Pindrock said, "Our forecast tools are showing temperatures falling into 30s across the Denver area by Wednesday morning. The cold air combined with an east wind flowing up the mountains could lead to more accumulating snow in the city and the mountains."

"If everything comes together, the mountains to the west of Denver could receive a foot or more of snow on Wednesday," Pindrock said. "Denver averages about 1.3 inches of snow during the month of May, which means that snowfall this time of year isn't rare."

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Just like snow is no stranger in May in Denver, often it will warm up quite a bit ahead of most snowstorms throughout the fall, winter and spring.

Other cities in the region that will receive snow include Cheyenne and Casper, Wyo., Fort Collins and Colorado Springs, Colo., and North Platte and Scottsbluff, Neb.

Possible Snowstorm for Omaha, Other Cities on the Plains

As the storm rolls out from the Rockies, it may continue to produce a swath of heavy snow from portions of eastern Nebraska to Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and upper Michigan.

If all the right pieces were to fall into place, some communities over the central Plains that rarely get a foot of snow from a storm in January, may be digging out from a foot of snow by the end of the week.

While such a storm is more common in Denver and the High Plains, such an event is increasingly more rare farther east and over lower elevations in the region. The storm would be hitting these areas on May 2 and 3.

AccuWeather.com will continue to provide updates on the snowstorm, return of cold air to the Plains and any severe weather and flooding consequences farther to the east in the Central states.

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