Denver Weather: Arctic air set to ooze into Colorado bringing cold and snow
Thursday has been declared a First Alert Weather Day thanks an arctic cold front bringing frigid temperatures and more snow.
Until the front arrives late Wednesday night, Wednesday will be relatively quiet and continued chilly across Colorado. It will be the eighth consecutive day with below normal temperatures in Denver and there are at least another 5 days to go before temperatures could reach above normal just before Thanksgiving.
The coldest days of the nearly 2 week cold snap will be Thursday and Friday. High temperatures in the Denver metro area will be in the 20s both days and some areas along the urban corridor may stay in the teens on Friday. It's unusually cold weather for so early in the cold weather season. Denver should stay below freezing for about 66 hours from Wednesday evening through Saturday morning.
The cold air will also bring snow starting as early as sunrise on Thursday around Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley. The snow will then slowly move south toward Denver and Boulder during the day and snow is very likely along most of the urban corridor for the Thursday afternoon and evening commute.
The snow forecast is similar to what many neighborhoods received Monday night and Tuesday morning. Many areas including most of Denver should see 3-4 inches of fluffy snow. Areas farther east should get less while Boulder and Larimer Counties could get up to 6 inches including in Boulder and possibly in Fort Collins as well.
Most of the snow will end before sunrise on Friday and the main weather story going into the weekend will be the cold. If clouds clear enough by Friday night, temperatures could be in single digits Saturday morning.
The mountains will also get snow but nothing unusual for the high country. The mountains of Summit County will get 1-5 inches while the mountains farther north around Winter Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, and the Rabbit Ears Pass area could get up to 8 inches.
Looking ahead to next week, temperatures will finally warm up with 50s starting Monday. The weather should also cooperate for traveling by car or air in Colorado in the days leading up to Thanksgiving.
