Arctic air bringing cold temperatures — and some snow — to Grand County this week
Kyle McCabe/Sky-Hi News
As arctic air moves across the U.S. this week, all of Colorado will see cold temperatures. The National Weather Service’s Boulder station tweeted that the Eastern Plains could have wind chill temperatures as low as minus 60 degrees and Thursday, Dec. 22, will likely be the coldest day in Denver in 32 years.
Grand County’s Thursday wind chill lows come in at minus 34 degrees in Granby and minus 26 degrees in Kremmling, according to the National Weather Service. While not the coldest forecasted area in the state, Grand will still see wind gusts up to 41 mph Wednesday and 34 mph Thursday, causing the extreme temperatures.
National Weather Service Boulder/Courtesy image
Low temperatures will fall to minus 7 degrees Wednesday near Winter Park, minus 12 degrees Thursday near Granby and Kremmling and minus 15 degrees Thursday near Grand Lake.
Wind Chill Watches will cover most of the state Wednesday through Friday, with the watches in Grand County starting at 8 p.m. on Wednesday and going until 11 a.m. Friday. Low temperatures can cause frostbite in as little as five minutes and blowing snow will decrease visibility for drivers, according to the National Weather Service.
Parts of Grand County will also be in a Winter Storm Watch from noon Wednesday to 6 a.m. Thursday. The weather service alert reads that areas above 9,000 feet of elevation in north, northeast, south, southeast and west Grand will be under the storm watch.
All that cold weather should bring snow to the county’s ski resorts, though, as Opensnow predicts 6 inches at Winter Park and Granby Ranch on Thursday with another 6 inches coming from Saturday to Monday at Winter Park and 9 inches at Granby Ranch from Friday to Monday. Devil’s Thumb could get 21 inches while Snow Mountain Ranch could see 15 inches over the next 10 days, according to Opensnow forecasts.
Around town, Thursday looks to be the big snow day in Grand, with 6 inches expected in Tabernash, Fraser and Grand Lake, 5 inches in Granby and 4 in Kremmling, according to Opensnow.
On Christmas Day, Opensnow predicts 1-3 inches may fall across Grand’s towns and ski resorts.
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