Late-season snowstorm to bury Colorado Rockies, coat Denver

A strengthening late-season snowstorm is expected to move east through the Colorado Rockies and areas south of Denver through early Wednesday, according to AccuWeather meteorologists.

Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories were issued for a large portion of Colorado and a stretch of southeastern Wyoming.

As the storm traverses the Rockies on Tuesday afternoon, it will eventually move into central and eastern portions of Colorado by Tuesday night where it will intensify, AccuWeather forecasters warn.

"A slushy coating in some spots in downtown Denver and the immediate suburbs is possible while the nearby foothills west and south of the city will have 1 to 3 inches, with 6 to 12 inches in the Palmer Divide," Accuweather senior meteorologist Brian Wimer explained.

Areas south of the Palmer Divide, such as Colorado Springs, are expected to pick up 1 to 3 inches of snow. Pueblo may also only receive a slushy coating of snow in spots.

A foot or more of snow will accumulate over the highest elevations in Colorado, giving ski resorts that are still operating another late-season boost.

After first mixing with rain during Tuesday evening, a few periods of wet snow will come down in Denver late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, when it will begin to subside.

"The most likely time for any accumulation will be during the overnight hours when precipitation can change to all snow at times," Wimer explained.

Motorists who travel along Interstates 25 and 70 can expect slow and slippery travel conditions, especially by late Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

From October through Monday, Denver received about 49 inches of snow, which is right around normal for that time frame. However, during the month of April, Denver has picked up about 5 inches of snowfall, 3 inches above normal for the month so far.

In short, yes, it is not unusual for snow to fall in April and into the middle of May in the Denver area and in the Colorado Rockies.

Batches of cold air try to dip down from Canada into the United States throughout the spring season, and rain and snow are possible into late spring in this region if a storm gets picked up by the jet stream.

There is the possibility of another round of rain and snow Thursday night into Friday morning in the Denver area, forecasters say.

About 1 to 2 feet of snow will pile up in the Colorado mountains through Wednesday morning with localized amounts of 3 feet in the highest elevations.

"The heaviest snowfall will occur Tuesday night when snowfall rates may exceed 1 to 3 inches per hour, making traveling difficult and dangerous in the region," Wimer said.