Bring your plants and blow out your sprinklers: Much of the state could see its first frost of the season this week.
The National Weather Service has issued a frost watch for much of northeastern Colorado from Thursday evening through Friday morning.
Surveillance covers the Front Range, from Colorado Springs to the Wyoming border, through Denver, and everything east of those cities.
Temperatures are expected to drop to 25 to 35 degrees overnight Thursday into Friday, according to the NWS.
To prepare for frost, the National Weather Service advises protecting or harvesting sensitive vegetation and winterizing outdoor plumbing, such as sprinkler systems and pipes.
The cold snap also brings the first winter weather advisory of the season for the northern mountains. The NWS said 6 to 12 inches of snow would likely fall in areas above 9,000 feet and travel in those areas would be dangerous.
Boulder NWS meteorologist Bernie Meyer said areas around Rocky Mountain National Park and Steamboat Springs would likely see the highest snow totals.
“We’re looking at somewhere between four and 12 inches,” he said. “Maybe even some of these higher foothills and mountain valleys can see light snowfall of up to an inch on the grassy surfaces, but not too much as you get down into the lower elevations.”
The heaviest snowfall is expected to fall Wednesday afternoon and evening and will taper off Thursday morning.
Temperatures are expected to rise into the 70s in some areas by this weekend.
This story is based on reporting by Haylee May
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