Chilly with the first flakes of the season likely today in the Denver area

It was 82° on Monday, but we’ll only top out around 40° today with on-again, off-again light snow showers, mainly this morning.

DENVER — FORECAST BY: 9NEWS Weather Impact Team Meteorologist Chris Bianchi

THE FORECAST AT A GLANCE: We are tracking a major shift in the warm dry weather pattern we have seen for most of October. Winter weather alerts have been posted in Colorado’s high country for up a foot of snow, while Denver will likely see accumulating (more than .1″) of snow this morning followed by its first hard freeze of the season tonight.

Mountain snow will come to an end later today in the high country, but not before another 2-6 inches of snow above 9,000 feet. I-70 travel will be slick today, especially at the passes. The snow will end from west-to-east through the day today, and it’ll be chilly tonight.

Meanwhile in the Denver area, a light rain/snow mix along with areas of fog or freezing drizzle will be likely for the Wednesday morning commute in the Denver area, but snow totals look unimpressive in the metro area, with perhaps a slushy inch or two of snow on colder surfaces in the southern and western Front Range foothills. Regardless, it’ll be our first snow of the season in the metro area. We officially need 0.1″ at Denver International Airport for it to officially count as our first snow of the season.

The high temperature in Denver could drop more than 40 degrees from Monday to Wednesday with this cold front. Denver’s high temperature is forecast to be 41 degrees today after a record-tying high of 82 on Monday.

The Front Range, including the Denver metro area, will see its first hard freeze tonight. The forecast low temperature in Denver is 26 degrees tonight, with some lower 20s likely on the Eastern Plains and single digits in the high country.

A Freeze Warning covers the Denver urban corridor starting 10 p.m. Wednesday to 9 a.m. Thursday morning.

We’ll dry out and warm up after today, with highs in the 50s and 60s in Denver before our next storm system and cooler temperatures for Monday and Tuesday of next week. It’s a bit early for details, but we could see accumulating snow in the metro area from Monday’s storm.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy, chilly, with mainly morning rain and snow showers, high 41. Early rain/snow partially clearing overnight, low 26.

THURSDAY: Partly cloudy and seasonal, high 58. Partly cloudy overnight, low 30.

FRIDAY: Mostly sunny and mild, high 63. Mostly clear and chilly overnight, low 31.

SATURDAY: Partly cloudy, breezy and mild, high 64. Quiet overnight, low 33.

SUNDAY: Partly cloudy, breezy and mild, high 61. Quiet overnight, low 33.

MONDAY: Turning mostly cloudy with a chance for late-day rain and snow showers, high 48. Mostly cloudy with rain and snow overnight, low 31.

TUESDAY: Partly cloudy and mild, high 50. Mostly cloudy overnight, low 32.

WEDNESDAY: A mix of sun and clouds, high 49. Mostly cloudy with a chance for rain/snow showers overnight, low 32.

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9NEWS Weather Impact Team

The 9NEWS Weather Impact Team of Kathy Sabine, Cory Reppenhagen, Laurann Robinson, Keely Chalmers and Chris Bianchi update the Denver weather forecast multiple times each day.

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