Denver Weather: Banded Rain To Last Through The Night With Snow Levels Dropping Near 7,000 Feet

DENVER (CBS4) - A cool and soggy storm settled along Colorado's Front Range on Tuesday afternoon with low clouds and widespread rain. In the mountains it was snowing along Interstate 70 with CDOT cameras showing the snow sticking to grassy areas west of Idaho Springs. As of 5 pm, CBS4 Weather Watchers reported snow mixing in with the rain around Evergreen and Conifer.

The storm was producing a few bands of heavier rain and snow as of late afternoon and this trend is expected to last through the night. The bands may move around a bit which makes predicting specific rain and snow totals difficult.

In general, before all is said and done, many places from the north-central mountains to the northeast plains should pick up anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 inch of water. Those under the steady bands could see amounts in excess of an inch. Unfortunately this storm will miss all of southern and western Colorado.

For Denver and the urban corridor, including cities such as Boulder, Greeley, Loveland and Fort Collins, it will be a chilly rain with temperatures hovering close to 40 degrees by sunrise on Wednesday. Higher up it will be colder and that means the rain-snow line should fall to around 7,000 feet during the overnight hours across the foothills outside of Denver. Parts of the Palmer Divide between Colorado Springs and Denver could also see snow mixing in with the rain by daybreak on Wednesday.

Locations above 9,000 feet in the north-central mountains may see enough snow overnight to cause travel problems, especially on places like U.S. 40 over Berthoud Pass and along Interstate 70 between Georgetown and Frisco. We could even see issues on the higher parts of the Peak to Peak Highway. There is a winter weather advisory in effect for those locations.

During the overnight hours the rain will spread onto portions of the eastern plains. Conditions will quickly dry out by noon on Wednesday with clouds lingering across locations east of the Continental Divide through the evening. Warmer and drier air will spread across the state on Thursday and into the weekend. Scattered afternoon thunderstorms will be possible just about each day.