DENVER — Colorado’s latest temperature forecast shows the cold air will remain in place overnight as a major Arctic air mass, only seen one or two times a year, settles in, bringing with it extreme wind chills over a prolonged period across the state, including in the Denver metro area.
The plunge in temperatures and dangerous wind chills are the main concern to weather forecasters, but the storm system will dump upwards of three feet of snow in some Colorado mountain communities.
Multiple winter weather alerts have already been issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) in Boulder, including a wind chill warning for the entire Denver metro area, Urban Corridor and Colorado’s eastern plains.
“It covers the metro area and all of eastern Colorado where we're going to see wind chills drop down to 20 to 30 degrees below zero,” said Denver7 Meteorologist Lisa Hidalgo.
The wind chill warning went into effect at 12 a.m.Saturday and extends through the weekend into early next week for extremely low wind chills up to 35 degrees below zero, the NWS warned.
“The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes,” said the NWS in its alert. “When outside, make sure you wear several layers of appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves. Take precautions now to provide shelter for outdoor animals.”
Weather forecasters stressed the cold conditions and dangerous wind chills in Colorado will stretch through the weekend through at least Tuesday before temperatures finally warm above the freezing mark.
Denver temperature timeline
Denver woke up to temperatures near zero Saturday morning, while temps were well below zero on the eastern plains. Temperatures will stay in the single digits in much of the metro and stay below zero on the plains, according to a Saturday morning update from the National Weather Service.
Denver7 | Weather
A guide to prepare for dangerously cold wind chills in Colorado
On Sunday in Denver, the overnight low drops to -7 degrees, and the afternoon high is forecast at 8 degrees with snow again possible.
Temperatures drop even further heading into next week as the overnight low into Monday morning is expected to plunge to -10 degrees with just a high of 4 degrees during the afternoon, with more flurries possible in the Denver metro area on Monday.
Finally, temperatures rise above the freezing mark on Tuesday then on Wednesday of next week, the sun breaks out and the temperature warms into the low 40s.
Extreme wind chills forecast in Colorado
Forecast wind chills in Saturday morning's update got even colder for some points during the extended cold spell, dipping near 40-below in far northeastern Colorado Tuesday morning.
By 6 a.m. Saturday in Denver, the combination of winds and actual temperature dropped the wind chill to -19 degrees and it hovers in the negative teens throughout the day. The wind chill in Denver will remain well below zero degrees all the way through Noon on Tuesday, according to the NWS, including readings of 20-below on Sunday and Monday mornings.
"Limit yourself outside as much as humanly possible," said Greg Heavener, NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist Friday. "Temperatures won't recover to above freezing until Tuesday at the earliest."
Check latest winter weather alerts in Colorado
The NWS was forecasting light snow in the mountains Saturday, with heavier snowfall returning late Saturday through Monday.
It warned that whiteout conditions were possible over the higher mountain passes at times through Monday.
Some areas of Colorado's mountains will see feet of snow through the weekend as a winter storm warning is in effect until at least 5 p.m. Saturday. Travel conditions could become hazardous as the snowfall accumulates on roadways and the temperature remains well below the freezing mark for days.
Areas under the winter storm warning in Colorado include portions of Jackson, Larimer, Grand, Boulder, Gilpin, Clear Creek, Summit and Park Counties.
WEATHER LINKS: Closings and Delays | Latest forecast | Radars | Traffic | Weather Page | 24/7 Weather Stream
You can always watch 24/7 weather, radar and news updates on the free Denver7+ app on your TV.
Click here to watch the Denver7 live weather stream.