Well, it has finally happened. Denver is going to get its first real snowfall of the 2015 fall season which is great news for those of us that like the white and fluffy stuff and not so great of news for the ones that want another 6 months of summer and above average temperatures. All I can say is that I am ecstatic because, regardless of your view of cold weather, there’s actually some kind of interesting weather happening!

Okay, first things first. The National Weather Service has everything north of Colorado Springs under some type of winter weather related warning and since this is a weather page, I should probably start with the most pertinent information. So, here are the warnings (graphic from NWS Boulder)-

The Denver Metro area in under a Winter Weather Advisory.

The northern I-25 corridor is under a winter storm warning.

Areas east of Denver are under a Blizzard Warning

Ok, now that that’s out of the way, on to the forecast!

A cold front and intensifying low will move through Colorado over the next 24-36 hours. It will bring cooler temperatures, intense winds, and everyone’s favorite, snowfall. The system will then move to the northeast and leave the area tomorrow afternoon. So, it’s going to mean that all kinds of fun things will happen for us here in Denver.

Our precipitation will change from rain to snow around 8 or 9pm tonight and will intensify around midnight. Moderate snowfall will happen from midnight until roughly 6am and won’t completely end until late tomorrow morning so make sure that you leave early if you need to be anywhere in the morning.Snowfall totals for the metro area should be 2-4 inches in most places and should be highest to the southeast of the metro area. Northwest locations such as Boulder, Broomfield, and Longmont should see small accumulations of 1-2″. Far eastern Aurora, Centennial, and Parker as well as the Palmer Divide region will see 3-6 inches by morning.

Travel in the morning will be hazardous due to icy, slushy, and wet roads. This is especially true in eastern Colorado where blizzard warnings are in effect due to winds that could top 40 mph and heavy snowfall amounts. Give yourself plenty of extra time if you need to go somewhere.