DENVER – It wouldn’t be Colorado if Mother Nature didn’t keep us all on our toes with drastic temperature changes, which is what we’ll see as warmer weather Thursday leads to snowy conditions and freezing cold temperatures to wrap up the work week.
Highs are climbing into the upper-60s to mid-70s Wednesday and Thursday under mostly sunny skies before winds kick up a bit Thursday, leading to critical fire weather conditions over the plains by Thursday afternoon, especially in southern Colorado, according to Denver7 chief meteorologist Lisa Hidalgo.
That all changes by Friday, however, when a powerful cold front moves in from the northwest, bringing widespread, heavy snow for the high country and light snow for more of the Front Range and the I-25 Corridor, according to weather forecasters.
“Snowfall amounts look fairly minimal, with less than 2 inches of slushy snow in the city by late Friday night,” said Hidalgo. “If we see the snow stack up, this would be Denver's first snowfall since mid-March, and the first of the month.”
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The snow isn’t the only thing coming our way: A hard freeze is also expected Friday night into Saturday morning with this cold front, as temperatures are expected to drop to a high of around 40 degrees Friday afternoon with overnight lows in the upper teens to mid-20s by Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service in Boulder.
The NWS has already issued a freeze watch for “all of the Front Range urban corridor and northeast plains.”
Hidalgo said Friday’s storm will move out fast, with sunny skies and gradually warming temperatures returning Saturday and highs climbing to near 80 degrees by early next week.
How much snow can we expect Friday?
Forecasters are still keeping an eye on trends to more accurately project snow totals with this incoming storm, but based on current modeling, Denver can expect between 1-2 inches of snowfall, while areas west of the Denver metro could see a little more in the higher elevations.
Here are possible “expected” and “high-end” snow totals across Colorado and the Denver metro area from the NWS.
Agate – 0.5" / 2"
Akron – 0.5" / 1"
Allenspark – 6" / 10"
Alma – 2" / 3"
Amherst – T / 0.5"
Antero Reservoir – 0.5" / 1"
Arvada – 1" / 2"
Aurora – 1" / 3"
Bailey – 2" / 5"
Bear Lake – 6" / 12"
Bennett – 1" / 2"
Berthoud Pass – 6" / 10"
Berthoud – 1" / 2"
Black Hawk – 4" / 8"
Boulder – 2" / 4"
Breckenridge – 2" / 3"
Briggsdale – 1" / 1"
Brighton – 1" / 2"
Broomfield – 1" / 2"
Brush – T / 1"
Buckthorn Mountain – 4" / 7"
Byers – 1" / 2"
Cameron Pass – 7" / 12"
Carr – 1" / 2"
Castle Rock – 1" / 3"
Centennial – 1" / 3"
Central City – 4" / 8"
Coal Creek Canyon – 5" / 9"
Commerce City – 1" / 2"
Conifer – 4" / 6"
Cooper Mountain – 3" / 5"
Cope – 0.5" / 0.5"
Crook – T / 1"
Deckers – 1" / 3"
Deer Trail – 1" / 2"
Denver – 1" / 2"
DIA – 1" / 2"
Dillon – 1" / 3"
East Portal – 7" / 11"
Echo Lake – 5" / 10"
EJM Tunnel – 4" / 8"
Elbert – 1" / 3"
Eldora – 6" / 10"
Elizabeth – 1" / 3"
Erie – 1" / 2"
Estes Park – 4" / 8"
Evergreen – 4" / 5"
Fairplay – 1" / 2"
Fleming – T / 1"
Floyd Hill – 4" / 6"
Fort Collins – 1" / 2"
Fort Lupton – 1" / 2"
Fort Morgan – 0.5" / 1"
Franktown – 1" / 3"
Fraser – 3" / 7"
Fremont Pass – 3" / 4"
Frisco – 1" / 3"
Georgetown – 4" / 7"
Golden – 2" / 4"
Gould – 5" / 9"
Granby – 1" / 4"
Grand Lake – 3" / 8"
Grant – 2" / 6"
Greeley – 0.5" / 1"
Grover – 1" / 1"
Guffey – 0.5" / 2"
Haxtun – T / 1"
Heeney – 1" / 3"
Highlands Ranch – 1" / 3"
Holyoke – T / 0.5"
Hoosier Pass – 3" / 5"
Hot Sulphur Springs – 1" / 4"
Hoyt – 0.5" / 1"
Hugo – 0.5" / 0.5"
Idaho Springs – 3" / 7"
Johnstown – 0.5" / 1"
Julesburg – T / 0.5"
Karval – 0.5" / 0.5"
Kenosha Pass – 2" / 5"
Keystone Ski Area Summit – 3" / 5"
Kiowa – 1" / 3"
Kremmling – 1" / 2"
Kutch – 0.5" / 1"
Lafayette – 1" / 2"
Lake George – 0.5" / 3"
Lakewood – 1" / 3"
Larkspur – 2" / 3"
Limon – 0.5" / 1"
Lindon – 0.5" / 1"
Littleton – 1" / 3"
Longmont – 1" / 2"
Loveland Pass – 4" / 8"
Loveland – 1" / 2"
Lyons – 2" / 4"
Matheson – 0.5" / 1"
Milner Pass – 7" / 11"
Monument Hill – 2" / 4"
Mt. Zirkel – 7" / 11"
Muddy Pass – 4" / 5"
Nederland – 5" / 8"
New Raymer – 0.5" / 1"
Northglenn – 1" / 2"
Nunn – 1" / 1"
Parker – 1" / 3"
Peetz – 0.5" / 1"
Rabbit Ears – 4" / 6"
Rand – 2" / 5"
Red Feather Lakes – 4" / 10"
Roach Snotel – 5" / 12"
Roggen – 0.5" / 1"
Rollinsville – 5" / 9"
Roxborough Park – 1" / 4"
Sedgwick – T / 1"
Shamrock – 0.5" / 1"
Spicer – 2" / 5"
Sterling – T / 1"
Superior – 1" / 3"
Vail Pass – 3" / 5"
Vail – 2" / 4"
Virginia Dale – 3" / 6"
Walden – 2" / 7"
Wellington – 1" / 2"
Willow Creek Pass – 4" / 9"
Windsor – 0.5" / 1"
Winter Park – 5" / 8"
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