Temperatures at Denver International Airport stayed below zero all day Saturday as the arctic cold set in across the eastern side of the state.
The low was minus 12 degrees just before 7 a.m., , and the high at DIA was minus three degrees just before 4 p.m.
Temperatures will stay cold through the weekend until the arctic air mass leaves the area by Tuesday morning, and wind chills will get dangerously cold as low as 30 or 40 degrees below zero.
Forecasters expect Saturday night’s low to be minus 10 degrees in central Denver, but DIA reported a temperature of minus nine degrees by 5 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in Boulder. The wind chill at that time was minus 25 degrees.
The coldest readings may occur Saturday evening, forecasters said, then level off overnight as the cloud cover increases across the plains.
High temperatures on Sunday will climb back above zero but not by much.
The cold will stick around through Tuesday morning, and high temperatures through Monday will likely stay in the single digits, with lows in the negatives.
Sunday’s high is six degrees, and the low is minus three degrees.
“(Monday night) could be the coldest because we could see some clearing (skies),” NWS Boulder meteorologist Jim Kalina said. “Temperatures can drop pretty quickly overnight. We’ll have snow cover. We have 13 below zero, but it could even get colder than that with clearing skies. It could drop to 20 below zero.”
Monday’s high is six degrees as well before the possible minus-13-degree low that night.
The arctic blast came into Denver between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday night, bringing an expected up to 25-degree drop in temperatures.
The metro are received some snow overnight as the arctic blast set in, with the National Weather Service in Boulder recording 2.3 inches Saturday morning.
Kalina said Denver wouldn’t see much more snow during the cold system; another inch of snow at most is possible.
Heavy snow fell across the mountains Friday into early Saturday morning, but as that system slows down Saturday, another system dropping another possible two to four feet will take its place overnight Saturday.
Blowing snow is possible, as are whiteout conditions as the snow continues there through Monday.
Forecasters still expect the arctic cold to end by Tuesday, as the high then is 32 degrees.
