DENVER – Temperatures in the Denver metro will plummet by about 35 to 40 degrees after Thursday’s high of 72 degrees as a strong cold front brings rain and snow across the Front Range with heavy accumulations expected throughout Colorado’s mountains over the next couple of days.

Winter weather advisories will go into effect starting Thursday evening in higher elevations including a winter storm warning for portions of southern Colorado. As of Thursday morning, the Denver metro was not under a winter weather alert.

“We could see over a foot of snow in many places for Colorado’s northern, central and southern mountains with winter weather advisories in effect,” said Denver7 meteorologist Stacey Donaldson. “As for the Denver metro, it looks like it’ll be pretty quiet through this afternoon. As for that rain and snow, it’ll change over tonight through the overnight hours. We’ll have snow all day on Friday with 37 degrees expected for an afternoon high in Denver.”

The spring storm could bring wet, heavy snow and possibly “weigh on trees which may lead to broken branches and power outages,” wrote National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters in Boulder.

“A strong system will bring snow with locally heavy amounts in the mountains exceeding a foot. Significant accumulations are possible in the foothills and adjacent plains as well. Be prepared for hazardous travel conditions,” added the NWS.

A winter weather advisory goes into effect Friday at 4 a.m. for higher elevations across portions of Boulder, Larimer, Jefferson, west Douglas, Gilpin, Clear Creek and northeastern Park Counties where between 4 and 10 inches of snow is possible, according to the NWS.

Denver7

Looking closer at potential snow totals, the Foothills could see between 3 and 7 inches with the Denver metro accumulating between 2 and 4 inches of snow through Saturday.

Here’s a breakdown of how much snow Colorado could see between Friday and Saturday, according to the NWS.

• Downtown Denver: 4″
• Denver International Airport: 3″
• Byers: 3″
• Boulder: 5″
• Georgetown: 12″
• Castle Rock: 6″
• Kiowa: 6″
• Central City: 8″
• Winter Park: 10″
• Walden: 2″
• Lakewood: 5″
• Fort Collins: 2″
• Limon: 2″
• Sterling: Less than 1″
• Fort Morgan: 1″
• Fairplay: 9″
• Breckenridge: 7″
• Vail Pass: 11″
• Akron 1″
• Greeley: 2″
• Alamosa: 2″
• Colorado Springs 4″

You can track potential snow totals from the NWS at this link.

NWS Boulder

Light rain could develop across the I-25 corridor starting late Thursday afternoon through the early evening hours. You should expect snow to fall in Denver off and on through the day on Friday.

“Tomorrow, Denver7’s Futurecast shows snow for the Front Range and eastern Plains with bands of heavy snow off to the west and just east of the Divide,” added Donaldson.

Snow should start to clear out by Saturday morning in Denver before quickly warming back up in the low 60s on Easter.

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Denver7 is tracking how this snow season compares to previous years. Check Colorado snow statistics in the graphic below or in fullscreen mode by clicking this link.

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