Colorado Rocky Mountain High...

I was introduced to the beauty of Colorado back in the early 90s when my oldest son (Rob) went to CU-Boulder.  He now lives outside of Boulder in Longmont, about 10 miles to the NE. This is how his backyard looked yesterday.

He received 10-12" while Boulder reported over 16" on April 16th!!!   It even shows up on today's visible satellite loop with all the white in Colorado & Wyoming being snow on the ground.   Snow is beautiful...but in mid April?   I think not.

There was some chatter last week that the severe weather outbreak was overhyped since SE LA missed it.  Looking back, there were over 100 tornado reports right in the areas SPC highlighted.  I think they were right on.  The above graphics are their most recent charts indicating a very slight risk for strong storms here on Saturday with a much higher risk on Sunday, even including us in the "hatched area" indicating higher confidence in their thinking. So what's going on?

Saturday's rain chances come along a weak front that will stagger through by late in the day.  That front stalls near us waiting for another upper disturbance over California.  in fact, on the water vapor, you can see 2 swirls, one near Los Angeles and the other west of San Francisco.  These 2 will combine and race across the southern states bringing the much greater risk for storms here on Sunday.  Just so we don't "cry wolf" again, this is an OUTLOOK to give you a heads up.  It does NOT mean severe weather will hit EVERYONE.   It does mean we all need to pay attention, especially on Sunday in case the storms turn severe.  Your FOX 8 Weather App is your best friend during these events.

You can see California is chilly again while the SE has warmed up.   That will not last as several fronts are coming that should cool us back to near or below normal.  Finally, the Mississippi River at the Carrollton gage crested today at 17.61 feet, slightly higher than the Corps of Engineers projected.  It should slowly fall getting below 17' by Sunday, but the high water levels will linger into May.   Hopefully no more heavy rain events come for several weeks?  Stay tuned!