Where, when and how much snow to expect in Colorado this weekend

While it won’t be a winter wonderland in the metro area this week, Colorado’s mountains could get up to three feet of snow by Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

Southwestern Colorado’s San Juan Mountains could see between 1 and 3 feet of snow between Friday and Sunday, according to a NWS Winter Storm Watch. The watch will be in effect from 6 a.m. Friday to noon Sunday.

The heaviest snow is expected to fall in the La Garita Mountains and Eastern San Juan Mountains above 10,000 feet and the storm watch also covers Wolf Creek Pass, North Pass and Cumbres Pass, NWS forecasters said in the alert.

Between 18 and 37 inches of snow are forecast to stack up on Wolf Creek Pass and San Luis Peak in the San Juan Mountains, and the Million Dollar Highway could also see 2 to 3 feet of snow, according to NWS snow forecasters.

Snow originally forecast to start falling in Colorado on Friday could arrive as early as 2 p.m. Thursday and is expected to continue through Sunday afternoon, according to NWS forecasters.

The winter weather will continue in north and central Colorado, especially along mountain passes above 9,000 feet, forecasters said.

In central Colorado’s Park and Summit counties, Hoosier Pass, Fairplay and Alma could see between 4 and 13 inches of snow, according to NWS snow forecasts.

Near Marble in western Colorado’s Elk Mountains, Schofield Pass is forecast to see between 9 and 15 inches of snowfall this weekend, forecasters said.

The Rocky Mountains will see less snow than other peaks this weekend, with 1 to 13 inches forecast for Cottonwood Pass, Trail Ridge Road and Independence Pass, according to NWS forecasters.

Although NWS forecasters originally said the Denver area would see no snow this weekend, it’s possible the city could get a slight dusting of less than an inch. Any snow that does fall in the metro area won’t stay long but would be the first snowfall of the season.