AFTER MORE THAN THREE WEEKS OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND DRIER THAN NORMAL CONDITIONS...THE WEATHER PATTERN IS SET TO UNDERGO A DRAMATIC CHANGE.
VERY COLD AIR WILL DROP OUT OF THE GULF OF ALASKA TODAY AND TONIGHT THAT WILL HELP TO DEEPEN A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE OVER THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN STATES. SATURDAY THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT DROPS SOUTH OF THE WYOMING BORDER IN THE AFTERNOON. THIS WILL BRING STRONG GUSTY WINDS TO THE HIGH COUNTRY. SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW WILL INCREASE OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS THROUGH THE DAY.
SATURDAY NIGHT THE COLD FRONT WILL DROP THROUGH ALL OF EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO. SNOW WILL SPREAD INTO THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS AND DROP INTO THE VALLEY FLOORS OVERNIGHT. THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN VALLEYS MAY SEE SOME SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. A FRIGID NORTH FLOW WILL KEEP SOME SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE WESTERN COLORADO MOUNTAINS ON SUNDAY.
SNOWFALL LATE SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY IS EXPECTED TO FAVOR THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL COLORADO MOUNTAINS...ESPECIALLY ON NORTH FACING SLOPES. THE VERY COLD NORTH FLOW ON SUNDAY MAY ALSO BRING SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL AS FAR SOUTH AS THE NORTHWEST SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS. YET THERE IS STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY ON HOW MUCH MOISTURE WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR SNOW PRODUCTION.
SNOWFALL WILL LIKELY END SUNDAY NIGHT ALLOWING TEMPERATURES TO PLUMMET TO THE COLDEST TEMPERATURES OF THE SEASON SO FAR. NEXT WEEK...A SERIES OF STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE MORE SNOWFALL FAVORING THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS.
FORECAST CONFIDENCE IS INCREASING BUT THERE IS STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY ON SNOWFALL AMOUNTS. MONITOR THE LATEST STATEMENTS AND FORECASTS THROUGH LOCAL MEDIA...THE GRAND JUNCTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEB SITE AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/GJT...AND OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.