After a weekend featuring high winds and occasional snow showers, Nederland and the surrounding Front Range foothill communities are in for a dose of winter weather. A strong cold front will sag southward across Colorado Monday night and Tuesday morning, ushering in much colder air. A low pressure circulation will form along this front over southern Colorado. This weak storm system will act to slow the southward progression of the front. This will help to prolong the easterly upslope flow behind the front over the northern Colorado foothills and northeastern plains resulting in a lengthened period of light to sometimes moderate snowfall. While this storm does not have a lot of moisture to work with, it will be very cold. Depending on the strength of the winds blowing from the east up Boulder Canyon, the heaviest snow accumulations could actually be to the east of Nederland, in the foothills just outside of Boulder. Often in the foothills, bands of higher snowfall accumulation coincide with areas where the temperatures, humidity, and winds promote the best growth of snow crystals. In these cold upslope snow storms, the best snowfall is often east of the Peak to Peak Highway in the ‘lower’ elevations away from the Divide.
The National Weather Service Office in Boulder is experimenting with a new snowfall accumulation forecasting product. It provides a range of snowfall possibilities along with the most expected outcome. Products like this help to convey forecast uncertainty, information which can be useful for decision makers such as road crews and emergency managers. Check it out at: http://www.weather.gov/bou/winter
Overall, 6-10 inches of snow is likely in and around Nederland, with the heaviest snow occurring Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday night. On Wednesday, temperatures will struggle to get out of the single digits. It will be a Frozen Dead Guy kind of day!