Boulder digging out, on the move after 16 inches of snow.

Boulder is digging out and back on the move after yesterday's significant snowstorm, and our only real snowstorm of this Winter. Streets are still snowpacked and icy, and digging out a car requires about half an hour (or more) of work. Although we didn't get near the 24 inches I was imagining (hoping?) yesterday morning, Boulder still ended up with just over 16 inches of snow. I've heard reports of near 20 inches a little higher up the slope, but I haven't verified it.

The snow continued falling until just before dawn. The Flatirons are a winter wonderland this morning and a reminder to all why we live in this beautiful place.

Snow still coming down, Boulder approaching 15 inches at 6:00pm.

Snowfall rates have dropped dramatically, but the snow won't stop entirely until after midnight. South Boulder currently has just under 15 inches of snow. Curiously, the National Weather Service actually downgraded their total daytime accumulation. The initial forecast called for 9-13 inches. When it should have been readily apparent that more snow was being received, NWS decreased their total accumulation to 6-10 inches. When I teach meteorology classes, I always emphasize the need to pry yourself away from the radar estimates and look out the window from time to time. Very strange.

In any case, tomorrow looks to be a mostly sunny day and the end of our only real winter storm for the 2008-2009 season. Nearly half of the last 30 days have had high temperatures of 60 degrees or above. Yet another above average year resulting from regional (and ultimately, global) warming. Unfortunately, the National Renewable Energy Laboratories' instruments are indicating only 0.85 inches of water equivelant from this storm. We are still in a significant drought here on the Colorado Front Range.

Boulder at 12 inches at 11:00am, snow accumulating at 2 inches per hour!

In one of the fastest accumulating snowstorms I've seen, Boulder is now buried under 12 inches of snow and the worst is still to come! Two inches of snow per hour are accumulating along the Foothills of the Front Range. The state of Colorado is quickly closing down - hundreds of flights from Denver International Airport are cancelled, portions of Interstates 25 and 70 are closed, and businesses and schools are locking their doors all around the area. Visibility on Broadway in Boulder has been reduced to less than 1/4 of a mile at times. Numerous traffic accidents reported around the city and the National Weather Service is urging everyone to stay home. Speaking of the National Weather Service, they have underestimated our snowfall totals in the local forecast.

I have many more photos, but no time to edit or post as I prepare my gear for blizzard conditions, which are supposed to hit us after noon and last through the night. I'll try to get more shots posted this later this afternoon.

Snow accumulating in Boulder at 1.5 inches per hour - over half foot at 9:00am

We're seeing very rapid accumulation rates in Boulder. We just passed half of a foot at 9:00am, and there's no end in sight. The worst is yet to come - accumulation rates could increase to two inches per hour, and winds should start gusting over 30mph as the temperature plummets. A Blizzard Warning is now in effect for most of the Front Range. I'm forecasting two feet of snow for the Boulder area now. Travel is already becoming quite difficult, and I expect RTD (our mass transit system) will be shutting down shortly. The Subarus (my chase vehicles) are doing great in the snow, but the going is still slow.

I'm posting one shot now, but there will be more to come later as the snow dries out and gets whipped by the high winds.

Forecasted snowfall totals increasing; lots of gear rigging today.

The National Weather Service has upgraded our Winter Storm Watch to a Warning. As of early afternoon on Wednesday, it appears that Boulder and surrounding Foothills areas will receive one to two feet of snow by Friday morning. Similar snowfall totals are expected along the Palmer Divide. This is truly a classic, upslope snowstorm produced by a Four Corners Low. The winds are increasing in Boulder and I'm watching substantial cumulus clouds growing to the north.

I've finished rigging the vehicle for in-motion image capture, and preliminary tests look good. A new hydrostatic ball platform is being ordered, but unfortunately will not arrive in time for this event. A little more gear prep tonight and everything should be ready for several hours of continuous shooting. More to come...

Spring storm systems have finally arrived on the Great Plains.

Our first significant mid-latitude cyclone moved rapidly through the Great Plains yesterday. As I predicted, it dropped a couple of small and brief-lived tornadoes in the northern sector of the cold core low pressure cell. Nothing worth chasing up here, in terms of tornadoes, but the wrap around blizzard has been causing plenty of problems in the northern Great Plains and Midwest. The Dakotas could easily be looking at epic flooding in a few weeks.

The first real weather maker for the central Great Plains arrives later this week. From the beginning, this system has always looked more vigorous than the last in the forecast models. Right now, the Front Range looks to receive significant upslope winds. Combined with ample moisture, this should result in six to ten inches of snow for the Metro area, and probably more than ten inches of snow for the base of the foothills. These systems are usually accompanied by strong downslope winds on their backside, so I expect to see a lot of ground blizzards and general drifting throughout central Colorado as the system exits to the east. Across the rest of the Plains states, snow will be likely as well. Although there is nothing to indicate freezing precipitation events yet, I suspect sonde data closer to the time of the event will show a sufficient cold wedge near the surface and some freezing drizzle out on the Plains. If cloud depth is sufficient, freezing rain is a possibility as well. Time will tell! In any case, I will be chasing something by the end of this week and I'll post a photo or two early next week. Ahhh, spring break!

As I'm finishing typing this, the National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for the Denver Metro area until 5:00am on Friday.

EDIT: This looks to be a classic Four Corners Low. If the forecast models verify, this will have very strong upslope flow, and perhaps the strongest we have seen in many months.