Winter Storm in Denver?
 

So we're from the sunny south and have no idea what to expect for a winter snow storm that is projected to hit Denver this weekend.

We are scheduled to pick up a rental car on Sat. Will the rental cars have "snow tires" or appropriate equipment for driving in snow? Will the rental companies even be renting cars out in severe conditions? Will airlines cancel flights?

I want to cancel the trip but we've spent so much and the ski resorts won't refund any money.

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated!

The best of all worlds!! Snow for a skiing trip. They are predicting 3-5 inches in Denver according to weather.com. That is not going to close anything down. Drive carefully. Get to the area and have fun.

Yeah, sounds like snow for a ski vacation is perfect!

However, looks like there are two blasts of snow coming in. The first one tomorrow has a few inches as Gretchen notes. But the next one on Saturday and Sunday is shaping up to be a big one, 2-3 feet of blowing snow. Over the last two days the snow forecast kept increasing, and got pushed out by a couple days. This can mean there will be a big dump, the storm is moving slowly, and can create a transportation mess.

Sorry Banff, can't answer any of your questions regarding car rental or airlines, but it is something to keep an eye on.

I don't remember where you decided to go.... Loveland? Your bigger problem could be road traffic as skiers head to the mountains. But, I think I also recall that you are the only experienced skier in the group/family. This storm will bring great conditions for good skiers, but beginners could find skiing in deepish snow very difficult. I have no idea how much trail grooming Loveland does.

Your questions about the car should be directed to the rental company.

There's no predicting weather impacts on the airlines. There could be delays but probably not cancellations.

FWIW, Accuweather is talking about FEET of snow in Denver from Friday to Sunday, not inches, with the most snow falling between Saturday morning and Saturday night.

https://www.accuweather.com/en/winte...gh-city/911771

Loveland's weather and snow forecast... note strong wind gusts and a high of 19F predicted for Saturday.

https://skiloveland.com/snow-report/

They're predicting TWO FEET of snow in my CO mountain town on Saturday and Sunday. It worried me enough to reschedule my Monday COVID vaccine appointment, and I only live about five miles from the hospital where I'll be getting it.

They're also predicting lots of wind, which will just make all that snow more of a problem.

IME you can't rely on rental car companies to have proper equipment (unless perhaps you've rented a 4x4). Some vehicles aren't even adjusted for the high altitude, as they've been rented in one state and then returned in CO. I had such a car once and it was a serious struggle getting up a few of the passes around here. A fluke? Maybe, but I'd check with your rental car company.

The good news is that spring snow doesn't stick around long, the bad news is that two feet of snow is a helluva lot of snow, even for those of us used to the white stuff.

Good luck with your plans and welcome to our world:)

Meteorologists are now referring to the coming storm as "historic."

https://denver.cbslocal.com/2021/03/...-friday-night/

Well, it's tough because the reports seem to vary. We fly in Sat with an overnight in Den. On Sunday we are scheduled for a mid afternoon snow tubing around Breck and then skiing Monday.
SW is allowing rescheduling for flights on those storm days but NOT the return portion:(

We’re in the same situation...kind of
 

We’ve spent tons of money. Our plan is to tribe from Houston to Amarillo, TX, then to Denver. We should arrive in Denver around 3. The weather said it’s going to be bad Saturday night, so we’re hoping we get there before the worse part hits.

I know you don't want to hear this, but on the local news last night they warned people to stay home, particularly on Sunday. CDOT has the snow plows ready to go, but even under the best of circumstances, it takes a long time to clear roads of that much snow.

Times like this I really feel for medical staff and essential workers.

Here's the CDOT site if you don't have it. There is also a new-ish CDOT Apple app, but I haven't tried it yet.
https://www.cotrip.org/home.htm

https://i.cotrip.org/images/alert/an....png?v=9c3cc57 Weather Alert
Winter Storm Watch: Major winter storm expected for weekend travel . NWS Forecast models show the potential for heavy snowfall Friday night through Sunday along I-25, the Eastern Plains, and mountain corridors up to the Continental Divide. Most likely areas of impacts include I-25 from Colorado Springs to Wyoming including Denver and Monument Hill, with up to two feet of snow possible. Eastern plains, including I-70 to Kansas and I-76 to Nebraska may see 18" plus. Snow is expected to be heavy and winds may create blizzard conditions. I-70 up to the Continental Divide and Foothills west of Denver/Boulder may see over 36 inches of snow. Travelers, including ski traffic, should plan to get to their destination Friday, and be prepared to stay through Monday. Road closures are highly likely. Commercial transport will need chains, passenger cars will need adequate tires.

I'd try to rebook my flight for either later tonight or early tomorrow and get to my destination early. I live in the Denver area and most talk is that everything is going to be closed Saturday and Sunday.

There is no way you're driving from Denver to Breck on Sunday. Snow tires are irrlevant in this situation. You'd need a sno-cat.
Time to work on plan B. The resorts may allow you to change dates, or time to cash in that trip insurance....

This storm is no joke. According to the Denver evening new (Thursday), snow will start on Friday night and continue thru Sunday. We are expecting feet of it in the Denver area. You should expect flight cancellations on Saturday and Sunday-possibly into the week depending on conditions.

Thanks for all the advice,we were able to change flights (including the return portion) at no cost. It amazes me that speaking to two different agents nets two different results:(

Glad it worked out and excuse my erroneous info--so much for weather.com!! Our kids in Denver are battened down. In NC when we get a warning of an inch of snow the supermarkets sell out of milk and bread immediately!! DDIL says the markets are bare out there this time!!

Banff -

I'm glad it worked out. We're hunkered down here too - I made a run to the grocery for milk yesterday as that's the one thing I tend to run out of - lots of people were there getting their weekly shop in before the snow hits the fan.

And people can't even enjoy the ever so RARE "snow day" in Denver since everyone is working from home anyway!! LOL

Snow is always appreciated here Gretchen:)

Oh I would give anything to be there. I LOVE snow!! We went to our DGD's graduation 3 years abo==May it is. It SNOWED the night before--many inches!! Just for us. It was pretty much gone by morning--they wiped the chairs and bleachers down. But it was memorable!

And despite numerous forecasts for feet of snow, it could still end up being just a 'normal' storm. Never bet on the weather. It's just better to be safe than sorry.

Banff, I'm glad you could change your flights. Some resorts have already announced that they will extend their season to 4/18, so you've got time to sort out a new trip.

That is 100% true.

This one is looking like the real McCoy though, major upslope flow pulling lots of moisture from the Gulf.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e5c80e712b.jpg
Northern Colorado / southern Wyoming looks to be where the highest totals will occur. But we shall see. We aren't planning to leave the house for the next few days except to shovel. And we're talking to a roofer about having our roof cleared. If memory serves me right we have had unusually strong late spring and early fall storms for the past couple of years.

Glad you were able to change your dates Banff.

The weather folks were right! This is what we woke up to this morning and it's still coming down like gangbusters.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4d8e6afec4.jpg

We have about 15 inches in our patio this morning, still coming down hard. We shoveled last night around 11:00 PM when there was only about 4 inches. It was the wettest heaviest snow we've had in a long time, and I don't think that is solely explained by our advancing age.

As the model was predicting, the Colorado - Wyoming border has the largest amounts. See this map of past 24 hour snowfall which was generated about 3 hours ago.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e7838db600.jpg

Guess they cancelled over 1,000 flights at DIA both yesterday and today.

Reports of trees down around Larimer County, going out to shake the snow off some of our trees now.

Nelson -

Just the other day my husband said he 'overbought' our new snow blower. I suspect he's secretly looking forward to blowing our 250 foot long, very steep driveway with The Beast.

Hope he has fun Mel - I suspect he will. BTW, that is a great picture worth a thousand words that you posted.

"I don't think that is solely explained by our advancing age."

Made me smile...

And so it begins...

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3cbaff5ea1.jpg

The pictures are amazing ... especially beautiful for southerners.
We arrived in Den last night and went directly to an airport hotel. I was impressed with the progress the snow removers (what southerners assume they are called:) have already made.
Today we'll pick up a rental car and drive to the mountains. People on our flight said we need an SUV but it's a little too late for that....we just have a regular car:unsure:. Praying 70 will be clear.

I love the chiseled corners on the picture!!
I thought you had been able to completely change your time!! Must have missed it. I heard the airport was closed for a day or so so you were lucky.
Have fun in the snow. If you don't get it often you might as well have too much. LOL

Prayers answered! Looks like a some icy spots on 70, and wet, but otherwise clear sailing. Make sure your windshield washer fluid is full, might need it. Have a great trip.


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1b550b865c.jpg

Amazing
Did I hear that the mountains really didn't get that much snow? Radio report about how much this will help the drought--but not the mountains.

Yes, that's true Gretchen. I spoke to my friend in Estes Park yesterday. He set up a snow gauge so he could measure up to 48 inches, but only got 20, about the same that we had in Fort Collins. I think Breckenridge had 8 or 9 inches. The moisture came out of the east and piled up against the east side of the mountains.

I suppose the drought report you heard is accurate. Here's a drought map of the US, you can click on a region / state to drill down.
https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

As I understand it, the extreme drought in the southwest is a result of the current La Nina weather pattern.

I live in the mountains! Plenty up here at 8,500 feet, but I guess the ski areas didn't fare as well.

So we are actually staying in Goldenand this was our drive back to the hotel yesterday evening!!! And they said the snowstorm was over:) So glad we upgraded to a 4x4 when we were originally in a car. Pickup trucks were sliding all over, struggling up mountains, Semi's were stuck and we got stuck in one spot , not moving for an entire hour as night began to fall.https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6582724e2e.jpg

Welcome to Colorado Banff, where the snowstorm is never over, lol. That snow yesterday was predicted and we're in for more this weekend.

Hope you are at least getting in some good skiing Banff! Looks like the next few days should be beautiful, but as Mel noted more snow coming this weekend, on schedule for the first full day of Spring. We've seen that before.

We may try to get out of our neighborhood today to see if we can reach one of the main roads in town. But this is the street that leads out of our subdivision, so we have to go around a back way where streets are not plowed. May not happen until tomorrow. This is an ash tree, so it was going to have to come down one of these days anyway.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...58b2a6b8ee.jpg

Yes, the skiing has been wonderful!
We were here a couple weeks ago and I drove straight up to the mountains the first night and dealt with altitude sickness.
This time we acclimated in Denver for one day and stayed in Golden. The drive was a pain but after a day of activity we always started to feel the altitude at the end of the day and can't imagine sleeping at high altitude again.
Any thoughts on that? I just can't believe so many people ski and sleep at 10k ft.

It really depends on the person Banff.

I grew up in CO, but my husband's job then took us to other states and overseas, where we spent many years at sea level. I had no issues with the altitude when I returned home for yearly or twice yearly visits...until one particular visit when I had bronchitis and decided to go hiking at 10,000 feet (dumb move)...and a second visit when I zipped up to 9,000 feet to go hiking a few days after I got back. It wasn't the altitude so much as exerting myself at altitude.

For the first time I really felt the altitude, although I never felt sick, I just couldn't breathe very well.

When we moved back to CO to retire six years ago, we bought a house at 8,500 feet. A house with multiple sets of stairs. The flurry of activity associated with moving in was harder than usual due to the altitude and us coming from sea level in Australia (and all those damn stairs!). It took awhile to adapt...we were older and had been away for years at that point. Getting back into my work out routine at 8,500 feet was suddenly challenging.

It's like all things, it becomes part of your life. You learn when you need to take it easy and you learn to stay hydrated.

Glad the skiing is going well.

> You learn when you need to take it easy and you learn to stay hydrated.

Yes, in my experience, which includes probably a couple hundred nights camped above 10,000', those are the two biggest factors. But you never know how it will affect you from time to time.

Good luck and glad you are getting some good skiing in.