A strong cold front will bring snow to the high country and steady rain and much cooler temperatures along the Front Range on Wednesday, .
Conditions will be cooler and wetter than normal for the next two days, ending an unseasonably warm start to October, which had a record streak of 11 days with temperatures at or above 80 degrees in Denver.
Denver’s high temperature is forecast to only reach 49 degrees — 16 degrees cooler than the high of 65 degrees on Tuesday and a dramatic drop of 31 degrees from the high of 80 degrees on Monday.
Fog and a light drizzle in the morning will transition into more active showers in the early afternoon through Wednesday evening, with the heaviest rainfall expected between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
The National Weather Service in Boulder has issued a winter weather advisory for elevations above 9,000 feet in the central mountains from noon Wednesday until 6 p.m. Thursday.
Snow accumulations of between 4 to 12 inches are expected at elevations above 9,000 feet at Rabbit Ears Pass, Rocky Mountain National Park, the Medicine Bow Range, the mountains of Summit County, the Mosquito Range and the Indian Peaks.
Drivers can expect snow-covered and slick roads on mountain passes in those areas and are urged to use caution.
Rain accumulations will range from a few hundredths of an inch up to half an inch in some areas, with heavier bands in the Denver metro area.
Temperatures are expected to drop below freezing in the high country and bottom out at around 39 degrees in Denver overnight.
Thursday should bring more intermittent rain showers in the morning, stronger winds and a high of 52 degrees and an overnight low of 33 degrees — just above freezing.
Those temperatures will be cold enough to impact vulnerable plants.
More seasonable and sunny conditions will return on Friday, with a high forecast of 61 degrees, paving the way for a warming trend into the low 70s over the weekend in Denver.
