Snow Will End, But For How Long?

DENVER -- Wednesday's snow was somewhat different than recent snowfalls.

The light, fluffy flakes melted on many roads, sidewalks and driveways instead of accumulating. Depending on your location, you may have even seen a few peaks of sunshine filter through the low clouds.

Light snow will diminish through the late afternoon and evening hours Wednesday, with partial clearing overnight. It will be a very cold night as low temperatures drop into the single digits for Denver and the eastern plains.

Thursday will begin with partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies across for most of the state. But clouds will quickly increase by the afternoon ahead of an approaching cold front.

Behind the front, expect light snow to once again develop during the overnight hours Thursday. Much like today, the snow should be short-lived on Friday, with clearing skies by the noon hour on Friday.

Denver should see an additional 2-3 inches of snow overnight Thursday with 3-6 inches across the higher terrain south and west of the city.

By Friday, the main weather headline will turn to the bitterly cold air expected across Colorado. Afternoon highs on Friday will likely not reach 10 degrees for most locations from Denver east to Kansas.

The coldest temperatures can be expected overnight Friday and Saturday morning. Prepare for overnight lows of 5 to 15 below zero Friday night. Denver's forecasted low temperature by Saturday morning is 7 degrees below zero.

There is a plus side to the weekly snowstorms on the Front Range. The snow helps the snowpack in our area. The Front Range river basins are at 112 percent of normal and 118 percent of normal.

The rest of the state is not doing so well. Every river basin on the Western slope is below average. The statewide snowpack average is just 87 percent.

Stay with 7NEWS and TheDenverChannel.com for the latest forecast information.