Yesterday, the weather here was beautiful. We went to Rocky Mountain National Park, as one of the TAs in our organization had never seen snow. Needless to say, I hit her with a snowball (though she hit me with three…)
This morning has been mostly sunny, mild and still.
The NWS in Boulder, CO, forecasts a mostly cloudy day, with a 40% chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms, and a high temperature of 70 F. The winds will be calm, becoming north at 5-9 mph. This evening will be mostly cloudy, with a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, but becoming clear throughout the night, with a low temperature of 53 F. The winds will be from the north at 5-9 mph, becoming light and variable by midnight.
The NWS in Boulder, CO, has issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook concerning scattered strong thunderstorms. The primary threats will be strong winds and hail up to 1″ in diameter.
The visible satellite image shows a few clouds over the northern and eastern parts of the state this morning.
The 12 Z upper air sounding from Boulder is unavailable at this time.
The surface observations (from the SPC Mesoscale Analysis Map) show mild temperatures and low humidity, based on the dewpoints. The skies are clear over the Denver area, but are overcast in the eastern third of the state. The winds are light and variable, statewide.
The surface pressure chart shows no strong pressure systems or gradients over the state this morning. The RAP shows that a thermal low will develop over northeastern New Mexico in the next six hours. This low, plus a slightly higher pressure over central Wyoming will lead to a moderate pressure gradient across Colorado today.
The NAM 250 mb chart shows an upper-level low drifting through the state this afternoon and evening, bending the jetstream through the state. This disturbance will amplify the chances of storms
The HRRR simulated reflectivity shows scattered showers and thunderstorms pretty much all day today.
The HRRR predicts that the high temperatures for Boulder will peak in the low 70’s by 20 Z. After that, rain and clouds will keep the temperature down.
The HRRR shows that the winds will not be too strong. This image has been excluded from today’s post.
The HRRR shows cloud coverage will increase in the afternoon, and become mostly cloudy in the evening with showers, thunderstorms and left over anvil debris.
Today will be much rainier and cloudier than yesterday. Naturally, today is the day I have 28 flights coming into Denver, that will likely be delayed…
Thank you for reading my post.
Sources:
The forecasts from the National Weather Service are from The NWS Homepage
The upper air soundings and mesoscale analysis plots are from the Storm Prediction Center website.
The satellite data, model data, and forecasted soundings are from College of DuPage – SATRAD
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