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Heavy snow continues in Southern Rockies

Reading time 4 min     Christian Fernsby ▼ | November 8, 2024
A significant heavy snow event is underway over portions of the central/southern Rockies and High Plains early Friday.
The U.S.   Southern Rockies
A vigorous upper-level trough plunging southward has ushered in colder air from the north as a low pressure system over western Texas helps to funnel moist air from the Gulf northwestward over the region.

The compact nature of the upper low will help to sustain very heavy snow rates of up to 1-2"/hr leading to snowfall totals of 4-8 inches for much of eastern Colorado and northeastern New Mexico, with locally higher totals of 12-18" for the Palmer Divide and Raton Mesa and 18-24" over higher elevations of the Front Range mountains/foothills.

The combination of heavy snow rates and gusty winds will lead to blizzard conditions for some locations and create difficult to impossible travel conditions for the I-25 corridor and eastern Plains, where numerous area roads are already closed.

The most intense snowfall should begin to taper off overnight Friday, with some lighter snow possibly lingering into Saturday morning.

Meanwhile to the east, on the warm side of the system, the influx of Gulf moisture and increased instability will to lead to widespread showers and thunderstorms producing very heavy rain over the next couple of days.

Storms currently over western Oklahoma and northwest Texas will continue eastward along and ahead of an eastward moving cold front during the day Friday.

A Slight Risk of Excessive Rainfall (level 2/4) covers much of Oklahoma and central/northern Texas where locally heavy downpours over saturated grounds may lead to some scattered instances of flash flooding.

Showers and storms with more moderate rainfall and an isolated flash flooding threat are expected more broadly over the central/southern Plains.

The low pressure system will move northeastward across the central Plains Saturday with an expanding area of showers and thunderstorms along an arcing occluded/cold front over the Midwest and Mississippi Valley.

Areas of the Lower Tennessee/Mississippi Valley will see more intense storms feeding off higher instability and moisture streaming northward from Hurricane Rafael over the Gulf of Mexico bringing additional rounds of very heavy rainfall.

Localized totals of 3-5" over saturated grounds from recent rains will lead to threat for more scattered instances of flash flooding, with a Slight Risk of Excessive Rainfall in effect here as well.

While moisture from Rafael will help to increase this heavy rainfall threat, the storm itself is currently forecast by the National Hurricane Center to remain well offshore over the Gulf of Mexico and dissipate.

A Pacific system will bring increasing precipitation chances to the Pacific Northwest Friday/Saturday with moderate to heavy rainfall possible and snow for high elevations of the local mountains.

Precipitation chances with lower elevation rain and high elevation snow will spread into the northern Rockies on Saturday.

Elsewhere, some widely scattered light showers are possible head of cold fronts over the interior Northeast and coastal Southeast Friday.

Temperature-wise, most of the country will continue to see above average conditions outside of the Four Corners Region and central/southern Plains under the influence of the deep upper-low.

Forecast highs over the central/eastern U.S.

Friday will range from the 50s and low 60s for the northern Plains/Midwest/New England, 60s across the Middle Mississippi Valley/Ohio Valley, 60s and 70s for the Mid-Atlantic, and 70s and 80s for the Southeast/Gulf Coast.

Gusty winds and extremely dry conditions over portions of the Mid-Atlantic and southern New England have prompted Red Flag Warnings for the risk of wildfires Friday.

A cold front will bring cooler, more seasonable temperatures to portions of the East Coast Saturday, with highs dropping into the 40s and 50s for New England and the 50s and 60s in the Mid-Atlantic.

In the West, highs will be in the 50s and 60s for the Northwest, Great Basin, and northern California with 70s into southern California.

As noted, temperatures will be much cooler and below average in the Four Corners region as highs top out in the 40s and 50s, with 60s and 70s into the Desert Southwest.

Highs across the central/southern Plains will be in the 30s and 40s Friday, warming a bit for the southern High Plains into the 50s and 60s Saturday.


 

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