Colorado weather: Snow falling in southeast mountains, arrives in Denver tonight

A warm, sunny Wednesday will make way for rain showers and snowstorms overnight, National Weather Service forecasters said.

The winter storm, which is expected to hit southeastern Colorado the hardest on Thursday, could drop more than a foot of snow in the mountains and up to 6 inches south of metro Denver, forecasters said.

Colorado snow forecasts as of Wednesday

• A dusting to 3 inches of snow in downtown Denver, Arvada, Brighton, Golden, Lakewood and at Denver International Airport
• A dusting to 4 inches of snow in Aurora, Centennial and Littleton
• A dusting to 7 inches of snow in Parker, Castle Rock and Elizabeth
• Between 3 and 10 inches of snow in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, including Monarch Pass and Expectation Mountain
• Between 4 and 13 inches of snow in southern Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, including Red Mountain Pass, Cordova Pass, Coal Bank Pass and Wolf Creek Pass
• Between 4 and 14 inches of snow in southern Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains, including Culebra Peak and Bushnell Peak
• Between 6 and 12 inches of snow in central Colorado’s Columbus Basin
• Between 5 and 16 inches of snow in Costilla County’s town of Blanca
• A dusting to 2 inches of snow in popular ski areas, including Vail, Breckenridge, Winter Park and Copper Mountain

A Winter Weather Advisory is active through 5 p.m. Thursday for the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Wet Mountains, upper Rio Grande Valley and eastern San Juan Mountains.

Heavy snow started in southern and eastern Colorado’s mountains early Wednesday morning and will continue through at least 5 p.m. Thursday, forecasters said. Patchy, blowing snow could continue off and on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Mountain temperatures will be in the teens on Wednesday and Thursday, but forecasters said it will feel as cold as minus 10 with windchill.

NWS forecasters still aren’t sure how far north the snow will reach, according to a Hazardous Weather Outlook.

The highest chances for accumulating snow and slick travel conditions are over the Palmer Divide, southern and eastern parts of metro Denver and the adjacent plains eastward through Limon and Akron, forecasters said in the outlook.

There’s still a chance the snow could move as far north as Boulder and Greeley and the far eastern plains may see a slushy mix of rain and snow, forecasters said.

Snow is most likely in Denver between 11 p.m. Wednesday and 11 a.m. Thursday, according to NWS forecasters.

Warmer, drier weather will return Friday and hang around into the next week, forecasters said. Denver can expect sunny skies and temperatures in the high 50s and low 60s over the weekend.

Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.