A fast-moving cold front out of the north brought snow to the foothills and Denver on Thursday, as overnight temperatures are expected to plunge well below freezing.
Cloudy skies and flurries are expected through the afternoon commute Thursday and roads are wet, but not yet icy, in the wake of Wednesday’s unseasonable warm spell. Denver broke a high temperature record for Oct. 25, topping out at 84 degrees.
Snow picked up about 4:30 p.m., just in time for the evening commute in the metro area.
Daytime snow in Denver and other parts of northeastern Colorado on Thursday amounted to less than an inch of accumulation, according to the National Weather Service. In the foothills and mountains of northern Colorado, snow is expected to accumulate up to 4 inches in some areas. As the cold front exits to the south, with snow clearing by about midnight, cooler conditions will persist in northeastern Colorado.
The Friday morning commute will be cold, but roads should be in pretty good shape.
“The precipitation should have stopped far enough in advance of the morning commute that the roads should be pretty dry,” said Russell Danielson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Some stretches of metro area roadways could be icy on Friday morning. “Just use caution,” Danielson said. “We don’t expect the morning commute to be too bad.”
The overnight low temperature in Denver on Thursday will drop to about 22 degrees, according to the weather service, and Friday’s high temperature will top out at just 44 degrees.
Cold and breezy conditions — with winds up to 45 mph — over the far Eastern Plains on Friday will make daytime temperatures, when accounting for wind chill, feel closer to the freezing mark than the 40s.
Breezy conditions should continue on the Eastern Plains and in the mountains through the weekend.
In Denver, the low temperature overnight Friday should dip to about 28 degrees. On Saturday in the city, skies should be mostly cloudy, and the high temperature is expected to be 56 degrees, according to the weather service. Overnight Saturday shouldn’t be as cold, with a low of about 38 degrees, and Sunday’s weather should be sunny with a high near 69 degrees.
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