Metro Denver residents will see rain through the middle of May — probably not enough to reverse the drought — and any snow during this week’s cool spell likely will stay in Colorado’s mountains and foothills, according to the National Weather Service.

But Colorado and Denver have a history of May snowstorms, and “it can happen,” NWS meteorologist Russell Danielson said on Monday.

“There’s a slight, very small possibility of a few flakes falling overnight tonight with no accumulation expected,” Danielson said. “And, then, there’s another very slight chance Thursday night – again, with no accumulation expected,” he said.

The cooler weather that reached the Colorado Front Range on Sunday morning is expected to bring significant snow at elevations above 6,000 feet. In metro Denver, temperatures peaked at around 53 degrees on Monday, and NWS forecast afternoon thunderstorms.

In the mountains, snow showers will create hazardous travel conditions — poor visibility and slippery roads, especially on passes at higher elevations, NWS forecasters said. They issued a winter weather advisory for the north central mountains and anticipated mountain snow accumulations up to 8 inches by Tuesday morning.

Looking ahead, meteorologists predicted moisture in metro Denver over the next two weeks, shifting to warmer conditions through the end of July. That may bring relief after an exceptionally dry winter and early spring. Colorado mountain snowpack ranked as the lowest in recent history, and Denver temperatures in March – typically a month that brings heavy snow — broke records, topping 80 degrees.

“We have varying levels of severe to exceptional drought across the Denver area and the Front Range mountains,” Danielson said.

“Through about May 10, we expect multiple rounds of precipitation. That can, hopefully, lead to a little green-up,” he said.  “But, then, from the second half of May through the end of July, it will look particularly hot and dry. We’re still expecting an above-normal fire weather season.”

On Sunday, up to a quarter inch of rain fell on parts of north metro Denver.

Seattle Palestinian cultural festival participants applauded an al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades terrorist, released as part of a ransom for hostages held in Gaza, as he was introduced as the keynote speaker at a Saturday event.

Speaking by video call from Egypt, according to Instagram stories published by Students United for Palestinian Equality and Return at the University of Washington (SUPER UW), Raed Abduljalil told participants of the Palestinian Cultural Resistance Festival that their actions were “an essential part of the battle we are waging against the occupation and its supporters.”

“Stay vigilant, for homelands are protected only by their conscious and aware. And I tell you today: I am more convinced than ever that I chose the right path,” the Fatah-affiliated terrorist said, according to SUPER UW. “Until we meet, God willing, under the sky of a liberated homeland.”

Abduljalil was released last February after serving 23 years of a life sentence in prison, according to Quds News and Wattan, responsible for terrorist attacks that resulted in deaths and injuries.

In promotional materials for the event organized by SUPER UW, Nidal Seattle, and Seattle University Students for Justice in Palestine, Abduljalil was described as a “freed Palestinian political prisoner and author” who had met and “struggled alongside” arch terrorist Marwan Barghouti and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) cell commander Walid Daqqa.

“Please don’t miss this important opportunity to learn not only the horrific conditions of the zionist prisons, but of the incredible work and teachings of the compass of the Palestinian resistance: its beloved prisoners,” Seattle University SJP in an April 12 Instagram post.

The program was held at the Cherry Street Village interfaith community center, which, four days prior, hosted a SUPER UW fundraiser for Lebanon and a screening of a documentary about “armed resistance” against Israel.

SUPER UW on April 15 told supporters it was a “crucial time to raise funds to materially support as well as deepen our understandings of the Lebanese resistance.” These remarks led the Department of Justice to announce on Tuesday that it was investigating UW’s handling of antisemitism.

SUPER UW and Nidal Seattle are affiliated with a network of organizations tied to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States.

It felt like the San Diego Padres’ game all day, in large part, because it was.

Michael King twirled six innings of two-run ball, sporting eight strikeouts and only one walk. He exited the game with a 7-2 lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was over in a hurry.

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The Padres’ bullpen (uncharacteristically) gave up the game in a loud way. David Morgan and Bradgley Rodriguez combined to give up six runs — including a Tim Tawa grand slam — in the bottom of the seventh before Ron Marinaccio and Wandy Peralta gave up four more runs in the eighth to give the D-backs a five-run cushion.

San Diego tried to come back multiple times but couldn’t answer once, ending in a disappointing loss after what had started off as a promising game. Three home runs, two from Manny Machado and the other from Luis Campusano, had buoyed the Friars for most of the game until the relief blowup.

On most days, if the Friars scored seven runs before turning it over to the bullpen, there’d be no worry of giving the game up. But yesterday that was not to be.

The hard truth for the Friar Faithful is there will be games like this. It’s not an indictment on the bullpen, it’s just a long, long, season and leads will be blown sometimes — no matter how good the club is.

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That being said, San Diego will return home tonight hoping to best the similarly-hot Chicago Cubs. Their offense will be back in the pitcher-friendly confines of Petco Park so they’ll need to bet on a bounce back performance from the relief corps.

Taking the mound

Matthew Boyd (CHC) v. Randy Vásquez (SD)

That being said, Boyd (although feared in the past) has not been pitching like himself lately. He gave up six runs in his first start of the season before being placed on the injured list for two weeks. He’s been better since returning but still sports a 5.79 ERA on the year.

Boyd has also yet to go a full six innings in a game (5 2/3 at most). That’s good news for the Friars, who will hope to get to the Chicago bullpen quickly. They’ve been mostly solid but have struggled to a 3.95 ERA to start the year, and are without closer Daniel Palencia.

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Vásquez, on the other hand, has been San Diego’s ace to open the season. He’s tallied a 1.88 ERA and 1.08 WHIP to go with 30 strikeouts across 28 2/3 innings. He’s been a beast on the mound for the Padres and has only given up more than one run once.

Helping Vásquez significantly is his history facing Chicago. The righty owns a .194 opponent batting average against the Cubs’ lineup. If he can limit them similarly (like he’s done to opponents all season), Vásquez will have no problem tonight.

Batter up!

After some early tweaking by manager Craig Stammen, the lineup has been more or less set lately. It seems likely that continues tonight against Boyd, looking something like this:

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I’m hoping that Song makes his debut at the plate tonight. It’s possible that he debuts in a pinch-hit opportunity or DH-ing) as opposed to starting the game at second. But it seems possible he takes the start over Jake Cronenworth after Cronenworth’s slow offensive start to the season.

Tatis is still searching for his first homer of the year. It has been — by far — his longest drought without one. Hopefully he’ll hit one while being cheered on by the Friar Faithful tonight.

Relief corps

Like I said, the San Diego bullpen looked rough yesterday. But that’s hardly an indication of a downhill turn for the group. They’ve been dominant this year, ranking third in the majors with a 3.03 ERA.

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The high-leverage guys (Jason Adam, Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller) have continued to be dominant — showing no signs of stopping. Miller took the franchise record for scoreless innings pitched this weekend and will look to extend it tonight if San Diego has a lead in the ninth.

Behind those three is Kyle Hart, who will surely be first out of the ‘pen if Vásquez doesn’t perform as well as he typically does. Hart can cover several innings well for the Friars with his history as a starter, though he hopefully won’t need to so long as Vásquez pitches a gem.