Category: Verification (Page 1 of 43)

These posts take a look back at recent weather events, like snow storms or severe weather outbreaks, and evaluate how the forecast played out. We evaluate how well the models predicted what actually occurred, and offer insight into what can be learned and applied moving forward.

Winter Storm Recap: More than 4 feet of snow buried the Foothills while just shy of a 2 feet dumped on Boulder!

As promised, a well-advertised spring-like snowstorm delivered the goods to (almost) the entire Front Range this week with over four feet of snow falling in the Foothills and up to 2 feet across the lower elevations. We take a look back at this odd, moisture-infused winter storm, discussing how the difficult forecast evolved during the lead up and ultimately how much rain and snow pummeled the area.

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Thursday AM Update: Nearing the halfway point of the snowstorm with 24 hours and many inches of soupy snow still to come!

After a round of rain and thunderstorms Wednesday, everyone changed over to heavy snow Wednesday night with a dense blanket of sludge now covering the entire area as of Thursday morning. Though there will be a slight lull in the action for a few hours here, moderate to heavy snow is expected to redevelop soon with snow continuing non-stop into Friday morning. We are only now at approximately the halfway point of the storm. We take a look at how much snow has fallen already and discuss how much more is still to come!

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Winter “Storm” Recap: An extremely brief snow squall brought dangerous whiteout conditions to the entire area Tuesday morning, but not much actual snow

In dramatic fashion, an intense snow squall blew up over Boulder Tuesday morning and spread across the entire Denver Metro area leading to brief whiteout conditions just after the morning commute window. The heavy snowfall ended as quickly as it began, leaving behind rather unimpressive snowfall totals in the Front Range. However, as they say, it’s not about where you end up — it’s about how you got there! We discuss the crazy weather that unfolded on Tuesday and take a look at the snowfall totals.

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Winter Weather Update: A late-week cold front will usher in colder temperatures & light snow to the Front Range (Updated)

After a rather quiet week with seasonal temperatures, winter weather will return to the Front Range for the third weekend in a row as colder air and a quick shot of light accumulating snow arrive Friday evening and night. We discuss the atmospheric setup about to unfold, the potential snowfall amounts across the Metro area and Foothills, as well as when travel will be most impacted.

Update (Friday 2/16/24 8:00AM): We’re now seeing a better signal of stalled convergence/jet-forcing briefly sitting over the Denver area Friday evening, combined with a continued expectation for very fluffy snow ratios. Thus, we’ve bumped up snow amounts across the Metro area. Please check the updated snowfall map and storm impact timeline near the end of this post. We talk about this shift and much more in Friday morning’s Premium discussion HERE

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January 2024 Graphical Weather Review: One of our coldest starts to a calendar year!

The beginning of 2024 was completely opposite to the conclusion of 2023, with temperatures taking a sharp colder turn as multiple Arctic outbreaks slammed the Front Range. Warmer temperatures toward the end of the month saved January from being one of the all-time coldest here. There were also several light snow events during the month, but nothing substantial — not surprising as January is our driest month of the year after all. Here’s a quick and colorful graphical recap of our weather during January and how it relates to climatology.

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