Vail’s 9 inches of snow the past two days was a welcoming seasonal sign for Colorado skiers, but forecasters also warn Denver’s gardeners that a frost is likely Friday night.
“It’ll burst tomatoes and leave ice on plant leaves,” said Chad Gimmestad, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Boulder. “Better get your plants inside tonight.”
Although the storm track that brought the first significant moisture to Colorado in two months had moved directly over deserts in California and Arizona, it still managed to dump a lot of snow in Colorado’s mountains.
Cameron Pass got 10 inches of snow Wednesday night through Friday morning. Over the same period, Berthoud Pass and Rabbit Ears Pass received 7 inches of new snow. Crested Butte received 2 inches and Wolf Creek Pass got 2 inches.
Temperatures Friday morning were in the 20s and 30s in the mountains.
Denver received 1.49 inches of rain Wednesday and Thursday, Gimmestad said. After dropping a record-setting .79 of an inch of rain on Wednesday, the storm brought another .7 of an inch of rain on Thursday, he said. Those figures were recorded at Denver International Airport.
“It was a good rain for this time of the year,” he said.
Temperatures are expected to drop to the low-to-mid 30s Friday night, he said.
Denver will dry out Friday and remain dry through the weekend, with the next chance of rain Monday night, Gimmestad said.
Temperatures will rise to the 60s through Saturday and Sunday.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206, kmitchell@denverpost.com or @kirkmitchell or
