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.

Denver7

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.

DENVER WEATHER LINKS: Hourly forecast | Radars | Traffic | Weather Page | 24/7 Weather Stream

Click here to watch the Denver7 live weather stream.

A United Airlines flight from Denver to Edmonton, Canada had to return to Denver shortly after takeoff Sunday after a possible wildlife strike.

Video on social media shows flashes inside the cabin that appear to be caused by flames coming from the right engine.

United confirmed the incident in a statement to USA TODAY.

“On Sunday, our flight from Denver to Edmonton (UA2325) returned safely to Denver to address a possible wildlife strike. The aircraft returned to the gate, and we lined up a new aircraft to get our customers on their way,” the statement said.

According to the airline, the flight was operated by a Boeing 737-800. There were 153 passengers and eight crewmembers aboard.

Pilots regularly train for wildlife strikes, which are common hazards at many airports.

Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com.

FARGO — The Dragons are headed to Denver.

Five former Minnesota State University Moorhead men’s basketball players will follow coach Tim Bergstraser to his new job at Denver University.

When guard JaMir Price confirmed Tuesday night that he’s headed to Denver next season to continue his college career it completed a day when a bunch of talent moved from the Red River Valley to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

Earlier in the day, former Dragons forwards Logan Kinsey and Shaun Wysocki and guards Carson Johnson and Cody Dandridge all announced via social media they are also committed to the Pioneers.

Bergstraser was named the new coach of the Pioneers on Monday, April 14, and that same day Kinsey, Wysocki, Johnson and Dandridge all entered the transfer portal with “do not contact” tags.

As expected, those four players are set to join Bergstraser in Denver. The 6-foot-3 Price was already in the portal and wouldn’t have been able to return to MSUM. Since he played in junior college, Price gets one more year of eligibility that he had to use at a Division I school.

The 6-foot Johnson starred as a true freshman for the Dragons this past season, leading the team in scoring with 19.8 points per game. He was named the most valuable player for the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament, marking the first time a freshman won that award.

The Dragons went 25-9 overall this past season, advancing to the NCAA Division II Central Region championship game.

The 6-foot-6 Kinsey averaged 14.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in his recently completed junior season for the Dragons. Kinsey was a two-year starter and three-year rotation player at MSUM.

Wysocki also worked his way into the starting lineup this past season as a true freshman. The 6-foot-6 forward averaged 7.6 and 3.9 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-5 Dandridge is a highly regarded prospect who redshirted for the Dragons this past season.

Price played two seasons for MSUM and was a first-team, All-NSIC selection in 2023-24, averaging 14.5 points and 2.5 assists per game. He was limited to 12 games and six starts this past season due to multiple injuries.

Denver plays men’s basketball in the Division I Summit League in which North Dakota State is also a member.

Bergstraser’s introductory press conference is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. (CT) Wednesday, April 16, at Denver’s Hamilton Gymnasium. Bergstraser posted a 75-22 record in his three seasons at MSUM’s head coach.

Peterson covers college athletics for The Forum, including Concordia College and Minnesota State Moorhead. He also covers the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks independent baseball team and helps out with North Dakota State football coverage. Peterson has been working at the newspaper since 1996.