First Major Snowstorm Of Season

(Photo: KCNC, Heather Michelotti, Greenwood Village, CO, Oct. 28, 2009)
The first major snowstorm of the season has been plowing through the Rockies and parts of the northern Plains this week, dumping more than three feet of snow in parts of Colorado and two feet in Wyoming. This is a bit early in the season to be getting this much snow. Case in point: Cheyenne, WY. Because of this storm and previous snowfall earlier in the month, Cheyenne, WY has now recorded its snowiest October on record. The previous record-holding October was more than a hundred years ago in 1906, when 23.1" of snow fell. This month, more than two feet have fallen, and it's still snowing there Thursday morning. Also, I-80 between Laramie and Cheyenne, WY was shut down Wednesday into today because of the snow and traffic accidents occuring in the hazardous weather.

Here are some of the snow totals so far:
Pinecliffe, CO 39"
Nederland, CO 30"
Evergreen, CO 28"
Lander, WY 25"
Boulder, CO 17"
Deadwood, SD 12"
Denver, CO 12"
Chadron, NE 10"
Cheyenne, WY 9"

It's still snowing this morning in the Denver area, and you can watch live cameras from our CBS sister station KCNC.

The storm system responsible for the snow will continue to track slowly to the east, bringing us a chance for rain late Saturday night into Sunday. At this time, it looks like Trick-or-Treat time should be dry!

REMINDER: Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday morning at 2 a.m., so be sure to "Fall Back" those clocks Saturday night before you go to bed!

Rain Totals

From the two rounds of rain this week, here are some of the totals (with most of the rain falling overnight last night):

Newland 3.0"

Coatesville 2.1"

Danville 1.8"

Richmond 1.7"

Lynchburg 1.7"

Charlottesville 1.6"

Farmville 1.5"

Reedville 1.4"

Fredericksburg 1.0"

Staunton 1.0"

Wakefield 0.7"

Petersburg 0.5"

South Hill 0.5"

Williamsburg 0.4"

Emporia 0.3"

Norfolk 0.2"

The upper-level disturbance and low responsible for our rain Tuesday and early Wednesday is rapidly exiting through the Northeast this morning. Our next storm system is currently overspreading snow through much of the Rockies and into the northern Plains. A foot or more of snow accumulation is possible by tomorrow.

Winter Storm Warnings and Watches have been expanded into the Dakotas as a result of this strong, early season snowstorm.

Widespread Rain Likely Tonight

Two systems are making weather headlines today, one in the East, and another in the West:

The first system in the East is the result of an upper-trough. As this system swings through the Eastern U.S. Tuesday and Wednesday, widespread rain will overspread the Commonwealth tonight into the first half of Wednesday after producing heavy rain in Texas and Louisiana Monday. The heaviest rain for us will likely fall around the Wednesday morning commute. Totals will be around an inch for many places in Central Virginia, with some higher totals possible. Here is the expected output from this upper system in the Eastern U.S.

The precipitation you see in the Plains and West is a result of the next upper system currently entering the Rockies. This storm system will bring more snow to the Mountain West, and another round of rain for the Plains. Check out the Winter Advisories/Watches/Warnings in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and western Nebraska:

You can watch the snow as it falls in Colorado on their live traffic cams here. Also notice the Wind Advisories/Warnings from California to Arizona as this system brings gale-force winds. This potent storm will track northeast the rest of this week, passing through the Great Lakes Friday into Saturday. This is the storm that will sweep a cold front through Virginia Halloween and bring a slight chance for some rain. At this time, it appears any showers that do affect Virginia will exit the area Saturday evening. We'll be providing updates for the Trick-or-Treaters as we get closer to Saturday.