Hopefully you enjoyed the brief bit of sun and somewhat warmer temperatures yesterday because today we transition back to conditions like we saw this past weekend. A storm system preparing to enter the state will bring us some shower activity and cooler temps for the next 48 hours or so.

Mostly cloudy skies can be expected above today with little break in the cloud coverage. Temperatures will top out in the upper 50s, again well below the average for the date of 74 degrees. Some light sprinkles of rain will be possible this morning into the early afternoon.

The evening and overnight hours bring better chances for appreciable precipitation. Lows tonight will be in the mid-40s.

Keep an eye out for the showers with our radar here.

A bit of a break from the damp conditions of recent days as we should remain dry today. Temperatures though, while warmer, will remain well below normal.

The day starts with mostly cloudy skies then the cover should gradually ease leading to partly sunny skies in the latter half of the day. Conditions will be dry, winds light. In terms of temperatures, look for our highs today to top out in the low to mid-60s. Average for the date is 74 degrees.

Tonight we will still see a good bit of cloud cover and lows will be in the mid-40s.

A virtual repeat of this past weekend’s weather for today with well below normal temperatures and periods of showers. We may see just a bit of sun by the end of the day though signifying a brief period of drying out.

The day starts with cloudy skies and clouds will dominate most of the day. The afternoon and evening may bring just a little bit of easing in the coverage though. Light showers will be possible throughout the day but not we aren’t expecting any notable amounts of precipitation totals. Temperatures will remain well be about 20 degrees below the average for the date of 75 degrees.

Overnight today skies will clear some and we will begin to dry out. It will get quite chilly with lows into tomorrow morning dipping to around 40 degrees.

Some drying out and warming up will occur tomorrow and Wednesday but right now it looks like it won’t be till the weekend when we see the mercury return to near normal. Details in our extended forecast here.

Rocky Mountain National Park is a prime spot for viewing the fall foliage. (Tony’s Takes)

This time of year many folks start thinking about heading to the hills west of Denver in search of gold – fall foliage gold.

Where to go?  Below are five of ThorntonWeather.com’s favorite ones near Denver – plus a few further out and some bonus ideas.  After that, we will tell you where you can find a great website that provides regular updates on viewing conditions.

• Images from recent years’ seasons:
  • September 2015 photo slideshow
  • October 2015 photo slideshow
  • October 2016 photo slideshow

I-70 Corridor – If you’re looking for the easiest route, then this one is for you.  Simply head west on I-70 about 110 miles to Avon.  Between Vail and Avon, both sides of I-70 are lined beautifully with aspen.

Rocky Mountain National Park – One of the most popular summer destinations in the state is of course also a prime spot to view aspen in all their glory.  Once in the park head toward Bear Lake.  Glacier Gorge Junction provides a beautiful spot and you of course also get to enjoy all the splendor that Rocky Mountain National Park has to offer.  Extend your viewing by taking Trail Ridge Road all the way through to the west side of the park and the Grand Lake and Granby area.

Peak to Peak Highway – This little road trip can be a dual purpose trip – gambling and fall foliage viewing!  Take U.S. 6 through Clear Creek Canyon and then 119 through Blackhawk and Central City.  You can of course stop there if your wallet is fat enough and donate some money to the casinos.  From there continue on 119 toward Nederland.  Take highway 72 toward Ward and Allenspark.  There you will find more golden aspen than you can imagine, all with the Continental Divide nearby.

Colorado Fall Foliage – Average Date of Peak Aspen Colors. Click for larger view. (ThorntonWeather.com)

Poudre Valley Canyon –  Heading north on I-25 take Colorado 14 west and into Poudre Canyon and Roosevelt National Forest.  As you continue west you will come very near timberline as you come to Cameron Pass.  Amazing views abound!

Guanella Pass – This is a nice, relatively short drive from Denver.  From C470 take 85 through Bailey and Conifer, a nice drive unto itself.  When you come to the town of Grant, take the Guanella Pass Scenic and Historic Byway north to Georgetown.  The air is pretty thin along the way as you climb in excess of 11,500 views through the Pike and Arapahoe National Forests.

A couple other possibilities further from the Front Range:

Leadville / Aspen – From Denver take I-70 west to Copper Mountain and then Colorado 91 south over Freemont Pass to Leadville. Along the way there are plenty of viewing opportunities and Leadville is a nice little town to make a stop. From here you can take Highway 24 north back through Minturn and Vail. To extend the drive, take Highway 24 south to Colorado 82 and head toward Aspen. You can stop by the Maroon Bells in White River National Forest to view some of the most photographed mountains in Colorado.

Cottonwood Pass – From Denver take Highway 285 to Buena Vista. Head west on Main Street for seven miles then west on County Road 344 / Colorado 82. From there you start the climb up Cottonwood Pass with absolutely stunning views from the top. If you are up for it, you can continue down the west side of the pass into the Taylor Park area. Be forewarned though that the western half of the pass is unpaved and twisty.  Editor’s note: The west side of Cottonwood Pass is closed until Summer 2018 so that it can be paved.

Honorable mentions worth considering:

• Boreas Pass between Breckenridge and Como (County Road 10)
• Kenosha Pass on Highway 285 between Bailey and Fairplay
• Independence Pass (Colorado 82 between Aspen and Twin Lakes)
• Colorado 103 from Evergreen to Echo Lake. Throw in a drive up Mount Evans for a bonus.

If you do head out, be sure to send us your pictures for inclusion in our monthly photo slideshows!

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• Twitter: @ThorntonWeather (https://twitter.com/thorntonweather)

For more information:

• Colorado.com: Colorado Fall Foliage Drives
• Colorado State Parks: 7 Ways to Enjoy Fall Colors
• Colorado State Forest Service Aspen Fall Colors

Big changes on the way with our weather. We set a record high temp yesterday, today will be much warmer than normal but after that the mercury will cool considerably Saturday and Sunday and we see good chances for precipitation.

For today, mostly sunny skies start things off then this afternoon as a cold front moves in cloud cover will increase. Winds will be calm this morning but that front will also bring gusty winds in the afternoon and early evening. Temperatures will warm to a high in the low to mid-80s.

This evening brings just a slight chance for some showers. Tonight, mostly cloudy skies will be above with a few sprinkles of rain possible. Overnight lows into Saturday morning will dip to around 50 degrees.

Saturday will see mercury readings about 20 degrees cooler than today as the cold front and a trough make themselves felt. Mostly cloudy skies will be above and some periods of rain will be possible, particularly in the afternoon and evening. Highs tomorrow will top out in the mid-60s.

Overnight Saturday into Sunday, some rain will be possible with cloudy skies above. Lows will be in the mid-40s.

The weekend closes out on Sunday with our coolest day of the period. Highs will only be in the mid to upper 50s. Cloudy skies will be above and some light rain showers will be possible throughout the day with the best chances coming in the afternoon.

Looking ahead into next week, cooler than normal temperatures will be sticking around, at least through the first half of the week.

In our morning forecast we said it was possible we would break the record high temperature and indeed we did. In fact, we smashed it.

At 3:05pm the mercury at Denver International Airport where the Mile High City’s official records are kept topped out at 92 degrees.  This easily bested the previous record high for this date of 89 degrees set in 2015.

Here in Thornton we were just a touch cooler with our high hitting 91 degrees at 3:19pm.

Change is coming soon though with high temperatures this weekend being much cooler.  A trough and associated cold front will be moving through and that will translate to Saturday highs in the mid to upper 60s and only the upper 50s on Sunday.

Details in our extended forecast here.

The temperature roller coaster that we have seen for the past week climbs back up today with highs more than 10 degrees above normal expected. There will be plenty of sun and also some breezy winds to go along with the warm temps.

The day starts with clear skies and will remain that way for the most part through the day. The afternoon may bring a few light clouds but nothing that will block the sun for any length of time. We will be seeing winds picking up speed by the late morning and lasting into the evening. Fire danger remains quite high.

Temperatures will steadily climb toward a high today around 88 degrees. Denver’s record high for today’s date is 89 degrees, set in 2015, so we will be coming close.

Tonight, look for winds to calm, skies to remain clear and temperatures to dip to around 53 degrees.

Live conditions here.