National Weather Service Forecast Discussion

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474
FXUS65 KBOU 200607
AFDBOU

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO
1107 PM MST Thu Feb 19 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Light to briefly moderate snowfall expected across the mountains
  Friday morning through Saturday morning.

- (60%) chance for light snow across I-25 Corridor and plains
  Friday afternoon into Friday evening.

- Dry most of the weekend into early next week. Chilly start to
  the weekend, but a strong warming trend Monday and Tuesday.

&&

.DISCUSSION /Through Thursday/...
Issued at 1102 PM MST Thu Feb 19 2026

A disturbance will move across the area on Fri with best QG ascent
staying mainly over srn CO.  Meanwhile, a sfc low will be near
Denver Fri morning and then move eastward into east central CO by
late aftn.  Overall, the low level flow will be mainly from the
southeast across the plains and turn more northerly along the
I-25 Corridor by mid to late aftn.  Cross-sections show a dry
airmass in the lower levels as the system moves across which
will likely limit QPF.  Ensemble data from both the GFS and ECMWF
only show a few hundreths in most places, across the plains, so snow
amounts will generally be an inch or less. In the mtns, snowfall
will also be on the light side in most areas as well.

As the disturbance moves east of the area Fri night, snow chances
will gradually decrease in the evening.  On Sat, drier air in NW
flow aloft will move into the area with only a slight chc of snow
showers in the mtns.  Highs will be near seasonal levels.

On Sun, dry WNW flow aloft will be over the area.  A cold front may
move across the plains Sat night into early Sun.  As a result, this
front could keep highs in the 30`s over the far nern plains for
Sun aftn while readings stay near seasonal levels closer to the
front range.

Looking ahead to Mon and Tue, the flow aloft will become more
westerly as low level downslope flow develops.  This will allow for
much warmer temps from the foothills across the plains. In
addition, will see increasing wind over the higher terrain.
Cross-sections show only some mid and high level moisture embedded
in the flow so no precip is expected either day.

Finally, latest data suggest an upper level trough in NW flow may
affect the area by next Wed.  This feature would bring a chc of
snow to the mtns with a slight chc of showers to the plains.

&&

.AVIATION /06Z TAFS through 06Z Saturday/...
Issued at 1035 PM MST Thu Feb 19 2026

VFR through the first half of Friday, but MVFR/IFR conditions
likely Friday afternoon into Friday night. Winds are slowly
turning towards drainage and should maintain light speeds
overnight. A turn to north/northeast winds is likely sometime
during the morning hours, with a slow trend towards northwest by
the afternoon or evening. A weak storm system is expected to bring
scattered snow showers to the terminals, generally from around
21-03z. This snow looks to be rather disorganized, but there could
be brief reductions down to IFR visby along with ceilings of
1-2kft AGL.

Snow should end during the evening hours, but there could be a few
hours of low stratus persisting beyond 06z Saturday. There should
be quick improvement to VFR by Saturday morning as winds turn more
southwesterly.

&&

.BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
None.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...RPK
AVIATION...Hiris

NWS BOU Office Area Forecast Discussion