LOCATION · United States
Denver Weather Radar & Live Satellite Map
Is a hailstorm or upslope snow setting up over the Front Range?
Denver's weather is famously fast and extreme. A mile above sea level and right against the Rockies, the Front Range can swing from sunshine to a violent hailstorm in minutes, and from spring warmth to a heavy upslope snow in hours. Live radar and satellite make these quick changes far easier to see coming.
Open the live map over Denver and switch on Precip Radar and Cloud Imagery.
What to watch over the Front Range
- Hailstorms — Denver sits in "Hail Alley." Summer afternoons build intense storms over the foothills that march east over the city, often with damaging hail. Watch for bright red and magenta cores on radar — the most intense rainfall colours often mark the hail too.
- Upslope snow — the area's heaviest snows arrive when easterly winds shove moist air up against the mountains. Counter-intuitively, these storms approach from the east, not the west.
- Thundersnow — strong winter systems can pack enough lift for lightning inside heavy snow.
- Rapid temperature swings — Chinook winds spilling off the mountains can spike temperatures dramatically in winter, while cold fronts can crash them just as fast.
Reading the map for Denver
This is the trick that catches newcomers: Denver's weather does not always come from the west. Summer storms build over the foothills to the west and move east over the city, but the biggest snows ride in on upslope easterly winds. Watch both directions. The satellite view helps you see storms forming over the high terrain before the radar lights up.
Stay ahead of fast Colorado weather
Pair radar with satellite to catch storms developing over the mountains, and keep an eye on the direction of approach — it tells you whether you are dealing with summer hail or winter snow. Defer to the National Weather Service in Boulder for severe storm and winter weather warnings.
Open the live map over Denver to see current conditions.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Denver get so much hail?
Denver sits in 'Hail Alley,' where high elevation puts the freezing level close to the ground and intense summer storms build fast over the nearby mountains. Hailstones have less distance to melt before landing, so the Front Range sees some of the most frequent damaging hail in North America.
What is upslope snow?
When winds push moist air from the east up against the Rocky Mountains, the air is forced to rise and cool, wringing out heavy snow on the Front Range. These 'upslope' setups are Denver's biggest snow producers — and they come from the east, not the west like most weather.
SEE IT LIVE
Everything in this guide is on one real-time map.