DENVER — It's looking more and more likely that we'll see snow in the Denver area on Christmas Eve.
Two areas of low pressure will likely merge into one on Saturday or Sunday, and where, when, and how that merger takes place will determine whether Denver and northeastern Colorado gets a smaller, low-impact type of snow versus a potentially more significant one.
Unusually warm air will hover over Colorado this week ahead of the two storms. The two systems will approach from the west on Friday and Saturday before likely merging somewhere over the central United States this upcoming weekend.
Some of the computer forecast models are showing a storm that develops in the Midwest, leaving behind only a glancing blow of light, slushy snow to the Front Range. Others have a storm that forms too far north for major Front Range impacts.
But, a notable number of models are showing a medium- or even higher-impact storm that could deliver several inches of snow on Saturday night into Sunday (Christmas Eve). Depending on the timing, some of the snow could linger into Christmas Day as well.
That could lead to all sorts of travel headaches, particularly (and potentially, there's still a lot we don't know) on Christmas Eve. That could also lead to a snowy Sunday night Broncos game at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.
The mountains will see their snow primarily on Saturday and into early Sunday. Travel will be tricky on Saturday in particular in the high country, and at this point, it looks like Saturday night and Sunday morning may feature the heaviest snow in the mountains.
While the storm is far from a done deal - there are lots of questions, ranging from the amount of cold air to where the low will set up.
It's the type of storm that has the potential to deliver a significant snow and wind event: Two stronger storms merging over eastern Colorado may lead to a long-lasting snowstorm, with the possibility of leaving behind several inches of snow by Christmas morning.
But, there doesn't appear to be a ton of cold air with this storm, which could be a limiting factor. On top of that, the energy for this storm is currently over the northern Pacific Ocean near Alaska, so there's a long ways for this to go both in terms of distance and what the computer forecast models might do with it.
Here's how we see it, with the note that we'll adjust this as needed and we get better data in the coming days. In Denver, the current thinking is that this will end up as a medium-range storm, with the potential for a few slushy inches of snow. Most of that snow will probably fall on Christmas Eve.
But, there's a chance this winds up as a bigger storm, or little/nothing at all.
So, take this all with a grain of salt. But now might be a good time to start thinking about potential travel alternatives for Christmas Eve, just in case.
As always, we'll keep you posted as this gets closer.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Colorado Climate
MORE WAYS TO GET 9NEWS
Subscribe to our daily 9NEWSLETTER
Download the 9NEWS APP
iTunes: http://on9news.tv/itunes
Google Play: http://on9news.tv/1lWnC5n
HOW TO ADD THE 9NEWS APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KUSA.
For both Apple TV and Fire TV, search for "9news" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.