Get ready for a fall freeze, Denver.
After an unseasonably warm October, temperatures are expected to drop below freezing Monday night. While the day will see a high of 68 degrees, the temperature will rapidly drop in the evening, with a low around 31 degrees.
Monday evening will also see a slight chance of rain showers, as well as strong winds.
On Tuesday, high temperatures will be around 50 degrees and a low of 26 is expected.
- The freezing conditions will likely not meet Denver’s threshold for opening its cold weather homeless shelters — the city opens those when existing shelter space is full and when conditions meet one of three criteria: an NWS emergency weather warning, a forecasted overnight low of 25 degrees or below, or a forecast of two or more inches of snow.
- That’s cold enough to cause concern for sprinkler systems, especially those with exposed backflow preventers and piping. Denver Water advises residents to turn off automatic and manual sprinkler systems and to know where the water shut-off valve is located in case of a burst pipe.
If you have sprinklers, the ideal would be to blow them out today. Otherwise, SpringGreen advises you could turn off the water, run the sprinklers, drain it as best you can, insulate the backflow preventer and release pressure from the backflow, if you’re up for all that.
- It’s also time to get your garden and other plants ready for winter. Bring that jade inside. If you’re cold, it’s dead. (Here are some more tips.)
October has been relatively warm, by the National Weather Service’s standards. The average date for Denver’s first freeze is Oct. 7. Denver already recorded a brief dip below freezing on Oct. 18 this year.
But what about snow?
While the mountains may get a dusting of snow this week, Denver won’t be as lucky (or unlucky, depending on your perspective).
The typical first snowfall for Denver is Oct. 18, according to the National Weather Service. And while colder weather is in the forecast, there isn’t much moisture expected on the Front Range.
Last year, the first snowfall in Denver was Nov. 5. The latest snowfall on record was Dec. 10, 2021.
