The National Weather Service has released their updated mapping for a storm that continues in Colorado, depicting hard-to-believe snowfall forecasts for some parts of the state.
For reference, the National Weather Service issues three maps for three different potential snowfall scenarios – 'expected' snowfall with an 80% chance of coming to fruition, as well as a 'high-end' snowfall map and a 'low-end' snowfall map, each with a 10% chance. This report from OutThere Colorado takes a look at all three, with the period that this snowfall will take place spanning from Thursday at 5 p.m. through Saturday at 5 p.m.
While the 'high-end' snowfall forecast is absolutely wild, let's take a look at the 'expected' snowfall forecast first.
In this 'most likely' scenario, Denver gets 8 to 12 inches of snow between Thursday evening at Saturday evening, Colorado Springs gets 6 to 8, and Castle Rock gets 12 to 18. Totals get even deeper farther south, with Trinidad having potential to get between 24 and 30 inches in the city itself, with up to 36 inches possible on peaks in this area.
This much snow, most of which should fall between Thursday night and throughout the day on Friday, is sure to have major impacts when it comes to travel around the state. I-25 will likely face numerous safety closures – at a minimum between Pueblo and Trinidad, and maybe even between Castle Rock and Colorado Springs – as will I-70 – expect an I-70 closure east of Denver and potentially west of the metro area.
With that said, the high-end forecast is where snowfall potential seems almost outlandish, especially considering where it's set to fall and that it's still early November.
In this high-end forecast (seen on the map at the top of this article), parts of I-25 between Castle Rock and Colorado Springs could get up to 24 inches of snow, with parts of I-25 between Pueblo and Trinidad having potential for 30 inches. Meanwhile, I-70 east of Denver gets 24 inches, with Denver, itself, getting a foot of snow. The city of Castle Rock gets 17 inches, Colorado Springs gets 11, and Trinidad gets 27 inches of snow, with the area just outside of the city getting up to 48 inches.
Meanwhile, there's also the 'low-end' forecast, which still calls for totals that are sure to impact travel. While the low-end forecast puts snow totals in Denver and Castle Rock at about 6 inches and those in Colorado Springs at about 4, totals in southern Colorado are still in the double-digit range, with Walsenburg looking at 15 inches of snow and Trinidad looking at 16 inches.
Regardless of how this storm hits, travel won't be great around much of Colorado's I-25 corridor from Thursday evening through Saturday. The National Weather Service is warning of "very difficult to impossible" travel. Make sure your vehicle is packed with these 22 survival essentials if you do hit the road.
Find an in-depth city-by-city breakdown of how much snow is expected here.
Following along for more alerts and updates related to this forecast on the National Weather Service website.
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