Colorado is set to see a freezing weekend as snow and a bitterly cold arctic blast of air moves into the state on Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
Wednesday and Thursday will be the last semi-warm days before temperatures begin to drop, NWS forecasters said.
Snow arrives Friday
Light snowfall will begin in Colorado’s mountains at about 11 a.m. Friday, move into the Front Range and Denver area in the afternoon and reach the Eastern Plains in the evening, according to NWS forecasters.
How much will stick is still up in the air, but several inches of dry, fluffy snow is expected, especially near the foothills, NWS forecasters said in a Hazardous Weather Outlook.
Other weather services, like AccuWeather, are calling for 4 to 8 inches of snow in Denver and its surrounding suburbs from Friday into Saturday.
Colorado’s mountains, including peaks as high as Mount Elbert and mountain towns like Estes Park, are expected to get 3 to 6 inches of snow this weekend, according to AccuWeather. The Eastern Plains are forecast to get 2 to 4 inches.
Overnight Friday, temperatures across the state will dip into single digits, NWS forecasters said.
Chilling Saturday temps signal first subzero weather in Denver for the season
Once temperatures start to drop Friday, they won’t come back up until Tuesday.
Saturday will mark Denver’s first chance for subzero temperatures of the season, according to NWS forecasters. Though the snow will wrap up at about 11 a.m., temperature highs won’t rise above the teens in the metro area and could fall to around minus 2 degrees overnight.
The Eastern Plains will see similar overnight temperature lows of minus 2, but “blustery” wind conditions could make it feel even colder, NWS forecasters said.
In the mountains, snow will continue to fall throughout the day and overnight Saturday, forecasters said. Temperatures will drop to minus 6 overnight before any windchill.
Northern Colorado, including Walden and Kremmling, will see temperatures as low as 13 degrees below zero overnight Saturday, according to NWS forecasters.
Snow, negative temps return Sunday
Snow will return to the Front Range and Eastern Plains on Sunday, but little to no new accumulation is expected, NWS forecasters said.
Most of the state will see temperature highs between 10 and 12 degrees on Sunday before dropping back into or near the negatives, forecasters said.
Denver will see a high of 11 degrees and overnight temperatures as low as minus 5 degrees, according to NWS forecasters. The Eastern Plains could be as cold as minus 10 degrees Sunday night and the mountains will see low temperatures between minus 1 and minus 8.
The cold could feel even worse with wind chill, forecasters said.
The western slope, including Delta and Cedaredge, will barely escape the weekend without temperatures going below zero. The area is forecast to scrape by with overnight lows near 1 degree.
Monday to be the coldest day of the weekend’s winter weather
The coldest day of the arctic blast will be Monday, where “highs may struggle to get much above zero,” NWS forecasters said.
“Low temperatures could reach minus 10 to minus 20 across the I-25 corridor and Eastern Plains with the lowest temperatures occurring Monday night,” forecasters said in a Hazardous Weather Outlook. “With breezy conditions, wind chill values may reach minus 30.”
Northern Colorado will be the coldest part of the state Monday. In Walden, temperatures will hover around 3 degrees during the day and drop to 25 degrees below zero overnight, forecasters said.
It won’t be quite as cold in the Denver area, but forecasters said the city will see temperature highs near 7 degrees and overnight lows of minus 12. Temperatures in the Eastern Plains and mountains could drop even lower, with overnight temperatures of 15 to 20 degrees below zero.
Temps begin to warm up Tuesday
Temperature highs will escape the teen and single-digit cage on Tuesday, warming up to 33 degrees in Denver and the mid-20s across the mountains and Eastern Plains.
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