Skip to content

Next Storm/Next Snow Forecast Discussion from the Cherrywood Observatory – February 3, 2019

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

Forecast Discussion:

Groundhog update! To quote the CNN headline: "Groundhog predicts an early spring. Don't get too excited, he's usually wrong."

Locally, it was sunny and abnormally warm in Longmont. Today, a Pacific cold/cool front sweeps in with precipitation all across the west, but we'll see down-slope winds and not much of a cool down and no precipitation (Figure 1). You can see the pressure drop Sunday midday in the black line stretching across the middle of the graphic of Figure 2.

The harbinger of change is up in Canada right now. Figure 3 shows the next blast of fantastic cold much further west than the one that hit Chicago and the Midwest. I've drawn in a cold front (pretty bad artwork) on the margin of this invasion.

The longer range forecast:

In Figure 4, the cold air (not as extreme as what we saw the last week out east of us) is flowing over us and invading New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma on Wednesday/Thursday.  We'll be some 20 to 25° F below normal. With that invasion, we'll have a period of cold up-slope flow and snow, then colder temperatures for a while. Weatherunderground (Figure 2) gives us 1-3 inches. The GFS (Figure 5) gives us a coating to 1 inch. It is too soon to really say. You'll have to come back for more!

Figure 1: The forecast surface map for Sunday night. From NCEP.

Figure 2: the graphical forecast for the next 10 days for Longmont, CO from weatherunderground.com

Figure 3: The forecast temperature departure from normal map from the GFS and weather5280.com for Colorado, Sunday noon.

Figure 4: The forecast temperature departure from normal map from the GFS and weather5280.com for Colorado, Thursday noon.

Figure 5: the forecast accumulated snow map from the GFS and weather5280.com for Colorado, through Thursday morning.

Current Weather

Mostly sunny

Mostly sunny

32°F

UV Index
1 Low
Pressure
29.98 Steady
Visibility
7 miles
Dewpoint
26 °F
Humidity
76%
Wind
WNW 1.7 mph
Gust
3.8 mph
Wind Chill
32 °F

Hourly Forecast

Today
9 AM
42°F
Partly sunny
Today
10 AM
48°F
Partly sunny
Today
11 AM
53°F
Partly sunny
Today
12 PM
57°F
Partly sunny
Today
1 PM
60°F
Partly sunny
Today
2 PM
62°F
Partly sunny
Today
3 PM
63°F
Partly sunny
Today
4 PM
64°F
Partly sunny
Today
5 PM
62°F
Partly sunny
Today
6 PM
60°F
Partly sunny
Today
7 PM
57°F
Partly sunny
Today
8 PM
54°F
Intermittent clouds

7 Day Forecast

Partly sunny

Thursday

64 °F

Partly sunny


Intermittent clouds

Thursday Night

35 °F

Partly cloudy


Partly sunny w/ showers

Friday

54 °F

Cooler with times of clouds and sun; a couple of showers late in the afternoon


Showers

Friday Night

33 °F

A couple of showers in the evening; otherwise, cloudy


Mostly cloudy

Saturday

60 °F

Mostly cloudy


Intermittent clouds

Saturday Night

36 °F

Partly cloudy


Intermittent clouds

Sunday

62 °F

Times of sun and clouds


Mostly cloudy

Sunday Night

36 °F

Becoming cloudy with a shower in spots late


Showers

Monday

50 °F

Mostly cloudy and cooler with occasional rain; windy in the afternoon


Intermittent clouds

Monday Night

31 °F

Windy in the evening; partly cloudy


Sunrise and Sunset

Sunrise
6:50 AM
Sunset
7:22 PM

Based on AccuWeather data