DENVER – Welcome to the first day of fall in Colorado where Sunday brings the first accumulating snow in the higher elevations and steady rain across the Denver metro with temperatures well-below normal. But the taste of fall won’t last long as conditions dry out and temperatures warm back up for the week.
After periods of rain along the Front Range on Sunday morning, conditions gradually dried out by Sunday afternoon.
A total of 0.82 inches of rain fell at Denver's official recording station. It is the most rain recorded in a calendar day since April 27 of this year, according to the National Weather Service.
“By the time we get to 1 o’clock, everything has really started to clear out across the state,” said Denver7 meteorologist Stacey Donaldson. “Highs will only be in the 50s for today.”
Most areas along the I-25 corridor and plains should see between .25 to .75 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Boulder.
Autumn officially began at 6:43 a.m. on Sunday.Periods of light snow for locations above 10,000 feet should also end by around noon which is when the winter weather advisory also ends.
The NWS said Rocky Mountain National Park, Medicine Bow Range, The Mountains of Summit County, the Mosquito Range, and Indian Peaks are under the winter weather advisory for total snow accumulations between 3” and 8” with the “heaviest from I-70 southward above 10,000 feet.”
Snow and icy conditions forced the temporary closure of Trail Ridge Road at Many Parks Curve and Colorado River Trailhead, according to Kyle Patterson, public affairs officer for Rocky Mountain National Park. Old Fall River Road is also temporarily closed.
After this first taste of fall, temperatures quickly rebound for the week. Monday’s weather in Denver will bring more sunshine and a high temperature near 80 degrees.
Tuesday’s high will warm to around 74 degrees before plenty of sunshine and highs in the 80s remain in Denver’s forecast for the rest of the week – into next weekend.
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