(SOUTHERN COLORADO) – Winter travel impacts into the weekend will be most significant over the mountains and above 5,750′ at night as the temperatures fall. The instability associated with the spring storm may produce some bursts of snow that greatly reduce visibility for motorists over parts of the plains late Friday or Friday night, even if the snow doesn’t stick.

Lower elevations along the Front Range and Interstate will see some accumulation on the roads when the snow is heavy enough overnight, as the temperatures fall. This should primarily be for areas above 6,000′. While the snow is falling heavily, the roads will start to slush up and hold the snow, then when the snow lightens up, the roads may melt the snow off, especially in the lower elevations.

As temperatures get back up above freezing during the day on Saturday, road conditions should gradually improve.

Figuring out how much snow falls with a late season storm is always a challenge for us making forecasts because there are a lot of variables! Temperatures are above freezing in some spots while it is snowing, the ground has heat in it, the wet nature of the snow allows it to compact once it falls – so what falls isn’t necessarily what you’ll measure.

As an example of the challenges we face, check out a couple different computer model forecasts for Woodland Park. Keep in mind, the models are forecasting how much falls, not how much you’ll measure after some melting and compacting.

How much snow to expect

Snow amounts across the region will be heaviest over the mountains and lowest over the plains. I’m forecasting how much I think you’ll measure, not how much actually falls. Use the arrows on the right and left sides of the image to zoom in closer to your neighborhood.