Put away the sunscreen and break out parkas. Fall is back in Colorado Tuesday, as rain, snow and colder temperatures blanket the state, the National Weather Service in Boulder said this evening.
Snow and rain are expected to develop in the mountains early Tuesday, with drizzle and rain moving across the Front Range to the Eastern Plains by afternoon, forecasters said, as a cold, moist storm wells up from the Northern Great Basin.
Temperatures are expected to top out at 59 degrees Tuesday, or 25 degrees cooler than Sunday, when Denver’s high of 84 tied a record for the date set in 1958 and 2003.
The low in Denver Tuesday night is forecast to be 33 degrees.
By evening, light precipitation could dampen much of the state. The mountains and the foothills north of Palmer Divide could see light accumulations of snow by Wednesday morning, according to the Weather Service.
The National Weather Service office in Pueblo issued a winter storm watch for Tuesday evening through Wednesday afternoon for the Sangre de Cristo Range, the Wet Mountains and the upper Huerfano River basin.
Heavy accumulations are expected at higher elevations west of Walsenburg and south of Cañon City, forecasters said. Lower elevations in Southern Colorado could see 3 inches or less, according to the forecast.
Wednesday’s forecast for Denver includes a 50 percent chance of rain or snow until about 10 a.m. Wednesday’s high is expected to reach the upper 40s, with lows in the upper 20s.
Thursday should bring drier, warmer weather to the region.
The city’s high temperature is forecast for 52 degrees, with a low that night of 32.
Friday is expected to warm into the upper 50s and into the 60s in the city for the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
