DENVER — A cold night is coming to the Denver metro area, Palmer Divide and eastern Colorado plains.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Freeze Warning for the Palmer Divide, but the earlier Freeze Watch for Denver is no longer in place.
The Freeze Warning for the Palmer Divide, south of Denver, is for Tuesday night and Wednesday morning as temperatures could drop to as low as 27 degrees Wednesday morning.
Those with sensitive plants should take precautions to protect them from sub-freezing temperatures that are expected. Cover up your backflow preventers above 6,000 feet south of Denver.
A Winter Weather Advisory continues Tuesday for snow and blowing snow over the northern and central mountains. A Red Flag Warning continues for portions of east central and southeast Colorado along with the San Luis Valley.
Colorado will continue to see “breezy” conditions on Wednesday. The state's next disturbance will move in, keeping the Denver metro area cool and unsettled Thursday and Friday.
The 9NEWS weather team keeps a chance of a storm in the forecast each day starting Saturday and going into next week, but highs will return to the 70s.
9NEWS Garden Expert Rob Proctor has advice for protecting sensitive plants from a May freeze.
- Protect patio plants and vegetables with sheets and frost cloth, as well as buckets and wastebaskets.
- Carry what you can to safety indoors.
- Damage from frost is more likely if you live in a colder area or if you've planted tropical plants such as tomatoes or peppers.
- Most annual plants are susceptible to frost. Some are really touchy and can't survive even 1 degree below freezing. These include tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, basil, the squash family, coleus, sweet potato vine and salvias.
- But all annuals are at risk except for cold-hardy pansies, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, peas and onions.
- The good news is that most shrubs and perennials can survive a late frost. Plan to cover peonies and hostas. You don't want peony buds to freeze. And both plants have the disadvantage of not being able to put out new leaves this season if the initial ones freeze.
- You may want to cover other perennials on a case-by-case basis.
Denver forecast
TUESDAY: Partly cloudy and still windy with a chance for a late storm, high around 60; mostly clear and windy tonight, low 34.
WEDNESDAY: Partly cloudy, breezy and cool, high 59; mostly cloudy with a chance for an isolated shower overnight, low 38.
THURSDAY: Staying cool with scattered showers and a chance for a storm, high 55; mostly cloudy with a chance for a few showers and maybe a storm overnight, low near 40.
FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy with a chance for an isolated storm, high 62; partly cloudy overnight, low 41.
SATURDAY: Partly cloudy with a chance for an isolated storm, high around 70; partly cloudy overnight, low 45.
SUNDAY: Partly cloudy with the chance for late storms, high 72; partly cloudy overnight, low 46.
MONDAY: Partly cloudy with a chance for a few late storms, high 74; partly cloudy overnight, low 47.
CLOSINGS: Latest closings and delays in Colorado
WEATHER LINE 9: Updated weather forecast information at 303-871-1492.
TRAFFIC CENTER: Keep up on crashes and travel times here
If you have a weather report, photo or video to share, you can contact the 9NEWS Weather Team in these ways:
EMAIL: Weather photos, videos
Share updates on our Facebook wall: facebook.com/9weather
Tweet your updates using the hashtag #9WX or tweet us at twitter.com/9NEWSWeather
Download the 9NEWS app:
iTunes: on9news.tv/itunes
Google Play: on9news.tv/1lWnC5n
The 9NEWS Weather team of Kathy Sabine, Cory Reppenhagen, Laurann Robinson, Keely Chalmers, Ed Greene and Chris Bianchi update the Denver weather forecast multiple times each day. Bookmark this link to always have the latest forecast from 9NEWS. The team values your local weather reports and often features your photos and videos during weather segments in all newscasts.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Science is Cool