Rain and snow to give way to gradually clearing skies

Heavy snow forced I-70 to close in Summit County for a few hours Tuesday afternoon

Cold rain continues to fall in Denver overnight Tuesday, while heavy snow showers wind down in the mountains.  Easterly winds along with low level moisture kept temperatures from rising much in the metro area, as highs only reached the upper 30's to low 40's across the urban corridor.  Off and on rain showers began around noon on Tuesday, with a more steady rain overtaking the region Tuesday evening with temperatures hovering in the 30's.  The high amount of moisture near the surface is causing temperatures to remain steady, so if a changeover to snow in Denver occurs, it will be late into the night.  Nevertheless, the city could very well wake up to a dusting of wet snow Wednesday morning, while wet snow accumulations on grassy surfaces are more likely from Golden to Boulder, and higher elevations farther west in the foothills.

Heavy, convective snow showers developed in the mountains today as a low pressure system moved from Utah into Colorado.  The snow showers popped up in a summer thunderstorm-like fashion due to the amount of instability (more common in the spring than winter due to more heating), with the heaviest snow concentrating around the Summit County, the Gore Range, Independence Pass, and the Front Range mountains (Indian Peaks and RMNP especially) where many locations received 6 inches or more.  The heavy snow caused I-70 to close this afternoon between Frisco and Copper Mountain, as seen in the picture above.  Ski conditions should be quite good for Summit County, and possibly others on Wednesday.

Drier weather returns on Wednesday, but stubborn clouds to hang around

Precipitation in the Front Range metro area should be over by daybreak on Wednesday, but morning clouds and fog will make for a damp and chilly morning with temperatures starting out near freezing in the city.  Overcast skies will slowly dissipate throughout the day as the low pressure system moves east of Colorado, with high temperatures in the metro area reaching the upper 50's (upper 40's to low 50's for the foothills).

Snow will also come to an end in the mountains overnight Tuesday, but mostly cloudy skies will hang around for most of the day, as a ridge of high pressure from the west slowly creeps toward Colorado.  Highs in the mountains will range from the low 50's around Steamboat, to the upper 30's/low 40's near 9,000 feet, to the 20's above 11,000 feet.

Warmer temperatures and sunny skies on Thursday and Friday; more unsettled weather arrives this weekend

A ridge of high pressure will move in on Thursday, bringing nice spring-like temperatures to the state with highs in Denver likely topping 70 on Friday.  Spring snow conditions will return to the mountains as well.  The spring roller coaster will continue, however, as the ridge flattens on Friday, and moisture returns to the state on Saturday.  The weekend weather pattern looks fairly unorganized for now, but expect the mountains to see some snow on Saturday and Sunday.  Denver and northeast Colorado should stay mostly dry on Saturday, but could see a round of upslope precipitation as a system moves through on Sunday.  Looking ahead to early next week, a fairly active weather pattern could take shape, bringing more precipitation chances to the state.  As for temperatures, a cooling trend begins on Saturday in Denver, continuing into Sunday and Monday.