Yesterday afternoon, the high temperature in Metro Denver reached 86 degrees F, far too warm for late October. When such extreme weather events occur, they often presage a coming change and our summer-like heat was no exception.
Mild conditions persisted this morning and the temperature at dawn was 63 degrees. However, a light north breeze was evident and, by 11AM, the temperature had fallen to 51 degrees under partly cloudy skies. An hour later, the wind kicked up and clouds moved in; by 1PM, it was 42 degrees. Throughout the afternoon, the gray overcast thickened and the temperature continued to fall; by 5PM, it was 35 degrees and light snow flurries danced in the north wind. We expect an overnight low of 26 degrees F, a drop of 60 degrees over 36 hours.
The culprit for our temperature nosedive is an atmospheric trough, dropping across the Great Plains. Blizzard conditions have developed in North Dakota and Minnesota is experiencing its first significant snow accumulation of the year. Since we are on the west edge of the trough and since we are not receiving classic northeasterly upslope winds, our snowfall is expected to be minimal and temperatures along the Colorado Front Range should rebound quickly in the coming days. Indeed, we expect a high near seventy on Sunday.
Mild conditions persisted this morning and the temperature at dawn was 63 degrees. However, a light north breeze was evident and, by 11AM, the temperature had fallen to 51 degrees under partly cloudy skies. An hour later, the wind kicked up and clouds moved in; by 1PM, it was 42 degrees. Throughout the afternoon, the gray overcast thickened and the temperature continued to fall; by 5PM, it was 35 degrees and light snow flurries danced in the north wind. We expect an overnight low of 26 degrees F, a drop of 60 degrees over 36 hours.
The culprit for our temperature nosedive is an atmospheric trough, dropping across the Great Plains. Blizzard conditions have developed in North Dakota and Minnesota is experiencing its first significant snow accumulation of the year. Since we are on the west edge of the trough and since we are not receiving classic northeasterly upslope winds, our snowfall is expected to be minimal and temperatures along the Colorado Front Range should rebound quickly in the coming days. Indeed, we expect a high near seventy on Sunday.
