Denver Weather: Arctic Blast To Bring Snow And Record Cold For Valentine's Day

DENVER (CBS4) - Friday will be the fifth consecutive day with sub-freezing temperatures along most of the Front Range. Even colder weather is coming for the weekend and Valentine's Day is expected to be the coldest on record in Denver.

High temperatures around Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins will only reach the teens on Friday which is about 30 degrees below normal for the middle of February. It will be even colder on the Eastern Plains with high temperatures mainly in the single digits and morning wind chill values reaching as low as -24 degrees.

Meanwhile, it will continue to stay warmer in the high country with highs in the 30s and 40s for most mountain towns. Snow is likely throughout most of the day on Friday in the mountains with at least 1-4 inches of accumulation above 9,500 feet. More snow will hit the mountains Friday night and Saturday with at least 4-8 inches of accumulation in most areas including along the Interstate 70 mountain corridor.

For mountain areas north of Interstate 70, a Winter Weather Advisory is in effect through 5 a.m. Saturday for a total of 10-18 inches of snow for the mountains surrounding the Steamboat Springs area. The Rocky Mountain National Park region and the Flat Tops area also under an advisory through Friday night for at least 6 inches of total snowfall.

For Denver and the Front Range, any snow accumulation through Saturday afternoon will be very minor and generally limited to just a dusting.

Then accumulating snow will become likely in the Denver metro area starting Saturday evening and continuing through Sunday morning. At this time, the forecast is for 2-4 inches of light, fluffy snow across much of the urban corridor with higher amounts possible mainly north of Interstate 70.

Most of the snow should end by 9 a.m. Sunday but it will stay frigid. High temperatures will only be in the single digits and there is a good chance it could be the coldest Valentine's Day on record in Denver. The current record for the coldest high temperature on February 14 is 8 degrees from 1895. Our CBS4 forecast for Sunday is just 6 degrees.

The coldest temperatures in Denver will likely wait until early Monday morning when morning low temperatures will likely approach -10 degrees. The record low temperature for Sunday is -10 but Monday it is -20 (for February 15). It's unlikely we could get cold enough to put the Monday record in jeopardy.