Flurries will dust the Denver area through Wednesday afternoon after an overnight snowstorm dumped several inches across the metro, according to the National Weather Service.
The final round of accumulating snow pushed through Denver in the early morning hours, moving from heavy to moderate around 6 a.m. and transitioning into light flurries around 9 a.m., according to the weather service. Light snow will be possible across the metro area through 3 p.m. Wednesday.
“Snow will be much less steady going forward, with showers gradually diminishing in frequency and intensity through the morning and ending from north to south,” forecasters wrote on social media.
Measurable snowfall was expected to switch to flurries in the foothills by 9 a.m., south of the Denver metro by noon and in the Interstate 70 mountain corridor by 3 p.m., according to a chart from the weather service.
As of 6 a.m. Wednesday, 4.7 inches of snow had been recorded at Denver International Airport. Another two inches of snow was expected to fall before the storm’s end, but updated totals were not available at 9:15 a.m.
Late-season snowstorms aren’t exactly uncommon, but ones of this size are, National Weather Service meteorologist Kenley Bonner said. The weather service’s records go back into the 1800s, and only a handful of significant storms have been observed during that time, she said.
This week’s snow doesn’t quite make the list of Colorado’s largest May storms, but it’s Denver’s biggest May snow in years, Bonner said. The last measurable May snow recorded in the city was 0.3 inches on May 21, 2022, she said.
Snow expected to accumulate after 6 a.m. Wednesday across Colorado, according to the weather service, included:
- 1 inch in Berthoud, Fort Collins, Greeley and Loveland
- 2 inches in Arvada, Aurora, Boulder, Brighton, Broomfield, Centennial, Commerce City, Denver, Highlands Ranch and Littleton
- 3 inches in Castle Rock and Roxborough Park
- 4 inches in Breckenridge, Eldora and at Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park
- 5 inches in Fairplay
- 6 inches in Alma, at the base of Colorado 9’s Hoosier Pass
Weather alerts in effect or planned Wednesday morning in Colorado by the weather service included:
- Winter storm warnings for parts of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Grand, Jackson, Jefferson, Larimer, Park, Summit and Weld counties, active until 3 p.m. Wednesday.
- Freeze warnings for parts of Adams, Arapahoe, Archuleta, Baca, Bent, Boulder, Broomfield, Crowley, Delta, Denver, Douglas, El Paso, Elbert, Fremont, Jefferson, Kiowa, Larimer, Las Animas, Lincoln, Logan, Montrose, Morgan, Otero, Phillips, Prowers, Pueblo, Sedgwick, Washington and Weld counties. The warnings will be active from 8 p.m. Wednesday to 8 a.m. Thursday.
- Winter weather advisories for parts of Adams, Arapahoe, Chaffee, Eagle, Elbert, Grand, Jackson, Lake, Lincoln, Morgan, Ouray, Pitkin, Summit, Washington and Weld counties.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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