An arctic cold front will move from north to south into the Western U.S. on Friday and Saturday before spreading into the Eastern U.S. early next week, resulting in some of the coldest air of the season so far in many areas. Storms will continue to favor the East from late this week through early next week, while the Rockies will see a shot of snow Thursday-Saturday as the front arrives.

Bitter cold temperatures blast the Rockies this weekend, with moisture most prevalent on the eastern Divide. Higher moisture totals might land in Colorado near the Front Range by Saturday morning. The extended forecast looks optimistic for a pattern change possible by January 25th.

A minor disturbance will bring light snow showers/flurries on Monday but accumulations will be light & spotty. The medium to long range outlook (next 10-14 days) continues to trend drier with high pressure ridging becoming dominant across the Western U.S. The one exception will be a light snow event this Friday (Jan 17), which will be accompanied by an arctic front with frigid temps on Sat-Sun.

Thanks for reading this summer! For the rest of this week, a cold front moving across the Central Rockies will bring showers & t-storms to WY, CO, & NM Wed-Thu while the West Coast states will see a late-season heat wave. Next week, isolated to scattered showers & t-storms develop across the West with continued mild temps. Heading into mid-month, the PNW will trend wetter and cooler.