Our story about the storm headed our way this weekend has been the top item on 9NEWS.com all day.
And with a forecast calling for between 8 to 16 inches of snow in the metro area, lots of you have questions.
9NEWS Meteorologist Kathy Sabine has the answers to the nine questions we saw the most often during a Facebook Q&A on Wednesday night below. You can watch her Q&A in full here: http://bit.ly/1SiLj99
How common are April storms?
Kathy: “April is our second snowiest month on average, so this is very common. We typically see about 9 inches of snow during the month of April.”
How much snow vs. rain will we see?
Kathy: “I think we can see maybe an inch or two of rain, and maybe 8 to 16 inches of snow. But what we have to remember here is this is going to be prolonged periods of rain and snow, and rain and snow.”
At what temperature does it change from rain to snow?
Kathy: “32 [degrees] or below. It drops below that, it goes to all snow. And if it goes into the 20s, it’s gonna stick!”
How do the forecast models differ?
Kathy: “We look at the GFS, the European, the NAM and the RPM. They take a similar scenario, they take that mathematical equation and they drop in all of the information: humidity, wind speed, temperature, but all four of these mathematical equations are slightly different, created by different entities and different people, and some of them handle Colorado’s weather in the springtime better than others.”
What’s the severe weather threat?
Kathy: “What we’re waiting on tonight is the arrival of cold air from the north, and the timing of that cold air. Now, initially I thought it was going to be warm enough that we would have severe weather right here in the city, it looks like the severe weather threat on Friday will be east of us.”
Should I cover/bring in my flowers?
Kathy: “The biggest threat to the flowers will be breakage because of the wet, heavy snow. I think they need protection from the weight of the precipitation, but not the cold.”
I’m traveling this weekend. Should I be worried?
Kathy: “The greatest travel impact with this storm will be in the mountains. For much of the time during this storm, the roads will be wet here in Denver. Out at DIA, I don’t know that it’s going to have a great impact because I don’t know if they’re going to need a lot in the way of de-icing.”
Is this likely to break tree branches?
Kathy: “Absolutely there is. That’s probably going to be one of our bigger stories. And power lines.”
What areas will see the worst of the storm?
Kathy: “In the mountains. Simply with winter storm warnings already being posted, we anticipate over three days, one to four feet of snow. One to four feet.”
We’re updating this story with information about the storm as we get it: http://on9news.tv/1SzaDSh
You can find our full forecast here: http://on9news.tv/1XmO3Rw
