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Next Storm/Next Snow Forecast Discussion from the Cherrywood Observatory – December 29-31, 2019

This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

In Brief:

After a rough weekend, we re-enter quietness. We are below normal for Monday then back to normal temperatures Tuesday. There will be ongoing shots of snow for the mountains, but our next eastern plains snow chances hold off until next weekend.

Forecast Discussion:

Only another trace of snow was seen Saturday across Longmont (so I didn't put the CoCoRaHS map up). Some melting began today under building high pressure (Figure 1). Monday is still chilly but the sun will melt things a bit better than it did on Sunday (Figure 2).

The Longer Range Forecast:

The west is dominated by a ridge for most of the week keeping us dry. A trough flattens the ridge out next weekend (Figure 3) that will fuel our next (not so great - as it looks now) chance for snow - mainly on Sunday (Figure 2). Over the next 10 days, the GFS shows no significant snow in town (Figure 4). The GEM, on the other hand, does see a much stronger storm next weekend with up to 4-5 inches of new snow on the way (Figure 5). This means we have a fun model-battle to watch all week.

New Years Eve midnight forecast:

expect temperatures around 21F at midnight New Years Eve into the New year with partly cloudy skies and light west winds.

Figure 1: the current surface analysis map from Sunday PM and the weatherunderground.com
Figure 2: the graphical forecast for the next 10 days for Longmont, CO from weatherunderground.com
Figure 3: The 500mb forecast upper air analysis for Sunday AM. Pink dot is Longmont. Red lines are troughs, blue lines are ridges.
Figure 3: 10:1 (snow to liquid) snowfall totals over the next 10 days from the GFS and weather5280com for Colorado made Sunday afternoon.
Figure 5: 10:1 (snow to liquid) snowfall totals through the next 10 days from the GEM and tropicaltidbits. com for Colorado made Sunday afternoon.

Current Weather

Sunny

Sunny

75°F

UV Index
2 Low
Pressure
29.9 Steady
Visibility
8 miles
Dewpoint
42 °F
Humidity
31%
Wind
NE 2.9 mph
Gust
9.2 mph
Wind Chill
75 °F

Hourly Forecast

Today
6 PM
72°F
Mostly sunny
Today
7 PM
69°F
Mostly sunny
Today
8 PM
66°F
Intermittent clouds
Today
9 PM
62°F
Mostly cloudy
Today
10 PM
58°F
Mostly cloudy
Today
11 PM
56°F
Mostly cloudy
Tomorrow
12 AM
53°F
Intermittent clouds
Tomorrow
1 AM
51°F
Partly cloudy
Tomorrow
2 AM
48°F
Mostly clear
Tomorrow
3 AM
46°F
Mostly clear
Tomorrow
4 AM
44°F
Clear
Tomorrow
5 AM
43°F
Mostly clear

7 Day Forecast

Mostly sunny

Wednesday

75 °F

Mostly sunny, pleasant and warmer


Partly cloudy

Wednesday Night

41 °F

Patchy clouds


Mostly cloudy w/ t-storms

Thursday

75 °F

Turning cloudy, warm; breezy, a thunderstorm around in the afternoon


Thunderstorms

Thursday Night

49 °F

A thunderstorm in spots in the evening; otherwise, considerable cloudiness


Showers

Friday

70 °F

Mostly cloudy with a couple of showers


Thunderstorms

Friday Night

46 °F

Cloudy with showers and thunderstorms


Rain

Saturday

50 °F

Chilly with periods of rain


Rain and snow

Saturday Night

39 °F

Cloudy with rain, mixed with a little snow late


Mostly cloudy

Sunday

59 °F

Mostly cloudy with a stray thundershower in the afternoon


Partly cloudy

Sunday Night

36 °F

Partly cloudy


Sunrise and Sunset

Sunrise
6:08 AM
Sunset
7:49 PM

Based on AccuWeather data