Denver Weather: Chilly And Wet Weather Returns This Week

DENVER (CBS4) - At one time it appeared Monday temperatures in Denver could reach near 80 degrees. Instead a weak cold front that originated in Nebraska snuck southwest in Colorado Sunday night causing shallow clouds to develop along the Front Range.

The result will be temperatures topping out in the 60s in the metro area while other cities in the state soar to near 80 degrees including Grand Junction and Pueblo.

Eventually the shallow clouds in the Denver metro area should clear enough to allow increasing sunshine and a quick temperature surge. As this happens, the atmosphere will destabilize and thunderstorms will be possible especially for areas south and east of the Denver metro area. These areas are under a 'marginal' or 'slight' risk for severe weather late Monday. The primary concerns are large hail and damaging wind in areas such as Limon, Lamar, and Springfield.

On Tuesday our focus will shift to a storm system moving out of southern California and heading straight for Colorado. The system is moving slowly and will take three days to fully pass over the Rocky Mountain region.

The storm will bring good chances for rain on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday with the snow level dropping as low as 5,000 feet by Thursday morning. This means Denver and the Front Range have a chance for wet snow Wednesday night into Thursday morning. At this time it appears minor accumulation is possible for the metro area mainly on the grass.

Drier weather will arrive on Friday followed by sunny and warmer weather just in time for Mother's Day weekend.