Spring snow, thunderstorms strongest Saturday

The weekend-long series of thunderstorms and snowstorms sweeping across Colorado reached its strongest intensity Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

Another one to three feet of snow is projected for Colorado’s mountains and higher elevation foothills Saturday, according to a NWS hazardous weather outlook.

Idaho Springs and Juniper Pass near Mount Blue Sky could both see more than 35 inches of fresh snow stack up, according to NWS projected snow totals. Elsewhere in the mountains — including Rocky Mountain National Park and Berthoud Pass — snowfall projections between 20 and 25 inches were common.

The heavy, wet spring snow will create poor visibility and difficult travel, especially over mountain passes, forecasters warned.

While snow was falling in Denver and across other lower elevations Saturday morning, little to no accumulation is expected, forecasters said. The main impact in the metro area will continue to be from rain and thunderstorms.

The weather service issued a flood advisory for Denver Saturday morning as both rain and snow drenched the city, causing small stream and street flooding in downtown Denver’s Cherry Creek.

Temperatures in the city will hold steady throughout the day at around 38 degrees, only dropping to 37 degrees overnight, forecasters said.