A snowstorm entered Colorado from the southwest Thursday, but it won’t drop metro-area temperatures anywhere near the frigid levels they reached earlier this week.
Colorado residents can expect temperatures to rise gradually above freezing by Monday, said Frank Cooper, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Boulder.
Cooper said snow flurries started falling around 2 p.m. Thursday in Centennial. About 2 inches had fallen in Colorado Springs by nightfall, with higher totals in Woodland Park and the Palmer Ridge area.
Thursday evening, the National Weather Service issued an updated advisory that a stalled system had created one band of heavy snow east and south of Denver. That system dropped up to 6 inches of snow in parts of Douglas, Adams and Arapahoe counties. Similar totals were possible in Highlands Ranch and southern Aurora.
However, little or no accumulation was expected in the northern and western suburbs.
Xcel Energy reported seven power outages in the Englewood area affecting more than 6,000 costumers Thursday afternoon. It’s unclear whether the outages were weather-related. Xcel officials could not be reached for comment.
Before weakening, the system dumped heavy snow on the San Juan Mountains.
Meteorologists on Thursday said about 8 inches of snow fell in Columbus Basin in La Plata County and 7 inches in Weminuche Creek in Hinsdale County.
Forecasters said 8 to 16 inches of snow was likely by late Thursday in some mountain areas.
Because the storm entered the state from the south, temperatures won’t drop below zero overnight as they did during the previous storm, Cooper said.
The overnight low in Denver was expected to be around 10 degrees, as the skies were to remain cloudy, he said.
On Friday and Saturday, temperatures are expected in the 20s, Cooper said.
There is a 20 percent chance that the same weather system will bring more snow beginning Friday night. There is a 40 percent chance the storm will leave measurable levels of snow Saturday in the Denver area, Cooper said.
The weather will get warmer gradually next week.
Temperatures are expected to break the freezing level by Monday. By Wednesday, Denver could see a high of 40 degrees.
“We’re trying to recover. It’s just a slow recovery,” Cooper said.
Construction — and not inclement weather — will make travel tougher in the mountains.
The Colorado Department of Transportation plans nightly closures of Interstate 70 in both directions near Idaho Springs. Drivers will use the off- and on-ramps at the exit to move around the closure.
The closures originally were scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Thursday, but CDOT announced Thursday evening that work had been delayed because of the weather. The closure, at exit 240, now will begin at 9 p.m. Friday.
Crews are doing initial girder settings for a new bridge going over I-70. The work is expected to be completed by Monday morning.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
