Easter Now Expected To Be The Coldest And Snowiest In 90+ Years

DENVER (CBS4) - Maybe it's time to reschedule your backyard egg hunt to Saturday. Arctic air is set to invade Colorado starting Saturday night. As a result, temperatures will make a huge drop Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning.

It should be the coldest Easter Sunday in Denver since at least 1928 and will likely be among the snowiest as well.

Even if the state was not in the midst the COVID-19 pandemic, there would be a chance many outdoor sunrise services on Easter would be forced to cancel due to weather including the large annual gathering at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Of course the Red Rocks service was already canceled several weeks ago and this week plans were announced to hold a virtual service.

COMING UP ON CBSN DENVER: CBSN Denver To Stream Virtual Easter Sunrise Service At Red Rocks

Temperatures will be stuck in the 20s along the Front Range all day on Easter -- an average temperature of 24.5 degrees would be cold enough for this Easter to rank as the 5th coldest in Denver's recorded history regardless of the specific date Easter is observed.

Sunday also promises to be snowy. Anything more than 3 inches of snow in Denver on Sunday will rank Easter 2020 within the Top 3 snowiest on record in Denver. Weather records go back to 1872 and the snowiest Easter in Denver's history was in 1891 when over 9 inches fell downtown. It should be noted that Easter was in March - not April.

Regardless of where this Easter ranks in history, this Sunday promises to be cold and snowy, making egg hunts a challenge. Plus, more cold and snow is expected early next week. Temperatures are expected to stay below normal in the Denver metro area for at least 5 days in a row starting Sunday.

Read the Saturday weather forecast from CBS4 meterologist Chris Spears with the most updated weather projections.