'Panhandle Hook' Promises Changing Weekend Forecast

By Chris Spears

DENVER (CBS4) - A storm system spinning off the coast of southern California will bring an unsettled end to the Martin Luther King holiday weekend, especially for eastern and southern Colorado.

A Winter Storm Watch has already been issued for three counties on the east-central plains. A watch means that there is still high uncertainty in the forecast and to "watch" for the latest information.

As the upper-level part of this weather maker approaches on Sunday it will spin up an area of low pressure somewhere in the vicinity of the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles. The storm will then curve, or hook, off to the north and northeast, hence the name "Panhandle Hook."

There will be plenty of moisture from both the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico for this storm to work with, but there are two big wildcards with the overall forecast.

Because this storm will have so much warm air to work with there is also the potential to see some freezing rain somewhere on the eastern plains.

If you have plans to travel across eastern or southern Colorado on Sunday or Monday you will want to keep up with the latest forecast information and be prepared that this forecast may shift a few times as we fine tune the exact track of the storm.

Watch the latest forecast from Colorado's Weather Center:

Meteorologist Chris Spears writes about stories related to weather and climate in Colorado. Check out his bio, connect with him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @ChrisCBS4.