DENVER — The Denver metro area, Front Range, and eastern Colorado plains could see their first freezing temperature of the season early Saturday.
The National Weather Service has issued a Freeze Warning from 12 a.m. to 9 a.m. Saturday morning.
The warning area includes nearly all of eastern Colorado including the Denver area. It will be possible for some areas to drop down to 25 degrees by Saturday's sunrise.
Freeze watches and warnings are centered around agriculture, that’s why they only get issued in the early fall or late spring when crops are alive. This cold snap would put an end to backyard garden season as many of the uncovered plants in those areas will freeze. Sensitive flowers and porch-side plants need to be covered or brought inside.
The average first freeze in Denver is Oct. 7.
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Sprinkler systems
While plants need to be cared for, it is not yet necessary to shut down sprinklers on the Front Range, if you still have a green lawn. Root growth is critical in the fall months, so water is essential during this time of year. You don't want turf too dried out before the deep cold of winter comes.
It takes an extended deep freeze to damage pipes several inches underground. But if you do choose to leave them on, you will have to cover the backflow preventer which is the part that sticks up out of the ground. And if you shut your system down, you will have to commit to hand watering until the grass truly goes into dormancy.
Normally sprinkler systems get shut down around Halloween or the first week of November. There are no alarming temperatures showing in the extended forecasts from the American or European computer models.
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