Mostly clear on Tuesday, unsettled weather to arrive later this week

Clear skies, but brisk winds were prevalent across the Front Range cities on Monday, while snow showers continued in the mountains under a northwest flow, with many locations picking up an additional few inches.  Highs along the urban corridor reached the mid 40's to low 50's, while the mountains experienced much colder temperatures with highs in the 20's above 9,000 ft. and teens near and above treeline.  Strong winds raked the higher elevations as well, with Berthoud Pass recording a 52 mph gust and Storm Peak, at the top of Steamboat Ski Resort, recording an astonishing 81 mph wind gust!

Tuesday

A weak ridge of high pressure will build into Colorado on Tuesday, with calmer but continued breezy conditions expected for the Front Range, especially in and near the foothills, as well as on the northeastern plains.  Skies will remain mostly clear with high temperatures reaching the low to mid 50's for the urban corridor, and the mid 40's for the foothills.

Clear skies and slightly warmer temperatures will return to the mountains on Tuesday, although brisk winds will continue for the higher elevations.  High temperatures will reach the 30's in the valleys above 8,000 ft. and the low 20's near and above treeline, with 40 mph gusts possible along the Continental Divide.

Next storm arrives Wednesday night, lasting into Thursday afternoon, bringing snow mainly to the mountains

The high pressure ridge will begin to break down during the day Wednesday, with slightly milder temperatures but increasing clouds for most of the state ahead of an approaching low pressure system.  By Wednesday night, snow will arrive in the mountains and should last through the day Thursday with moderate accumulations possible, favoring the central mountains the most.  Winds will start out from the WSW before gradually switching toward the WNW during the day Thursday.  

By Thursday afternoon or evening, a cold front associated with the system will move through northeast Colorado, and a band of precipitation will likely develop over the northeastern plains, possibly affecting the Denver metro area as well.  Precipitation would likely start as rain, but could mix with or change to snow later on.  At this point, confidence is low on the type, intensity, and duration of precipitation for northeast Colorado and Denver, but it is unlikely to be a major event.

Colder, stormy pattern ahead for this weekend

After the Thursday storm, there will be a brief lull in the action before more weather arrives this weekend.  Confidence is low on the details this far in advance, especially since there have been some discrepancies in the last few model runs, but a potentially significant storm system could affect the state from Friday through Monday, bringing good snow to the mountains, and perhaps even an upslope snowstorm to Denver and the Front Range late in the weekend.  It will be something to keep an eye on throughout the week.  At the very least, temperatures will likely be well below average throughout the weekend into early next week.