A powerful late-season storm is set to slam Colorado this week bringing a sudden return to winter.
After a mild spring, the National Weather Service warns that “a major Pacific storm system has arrived across the Western United States earlier and with more ferocity than initially forecast.”
This shift has prompted a high-risk heavy snow flag for the Rockies from Tuesday into Wednesday.
In the mountains, the forecast is significant with “snow accumulations of 6 to 14 inches possible, with isolated totals up to 20 inches above 8,000 feet.”
For the Front Range and Denver, the storm begins as rain on Monday but will transitions as “snow levels drop from around 7,000 feet to 6,000 feet.”
While lower elevations might see 2 to 5 inches, the foothills could face up to a foot of heavy, wet snow.
Travelers should expect “hazardous travel, especially for Tuesday night and the Wednesday morning commute.”
Experts notes that “the calendar does not change the physics of the road,” and a May warning carries the same outages as “heavy snow leading to accumulation on tree branches and powerlines” could cause them to break.
