After an early taste of summery weather, Colorado’s mountains can expect a return to winter-like conditions this weekend with a series of storms predicted to hit the Western Slope heading into next week.

The weekend will start out warm, with Thursday promising record-high temperatures. By Thursday night, however, the National Weather Service predicts scattered thunderstorms and gusty winds could hit Colorado’s central and northwestern mountains.

By Friday, the unseasonably warm weather will give way to cooler temperatures — highs in the 60s for upper valleys and 50s in higher-elevation towns. Snow is possible in higher elevations above 9,000 feet from Friday afternoon through Friday night as storms move through, with 2-5 inches of accumulation on the mountains by Saturday morning, according to OpenSnow. Meanwhile, lower-elevation valleys and plains will likely see rain showers.

“This first wave is pretty mild, so for (some) valleys it will probably start off as rain, maybe change the snow before it ends Saturday morning,” National Weather Service forecaster Bernie Meier said. “But there’s additional chances later on Saturday and then maybe again come Sunday where it might be cold enough for some accumulation in the valleys.”

Saturday will be mostly dry until the evening, when another storm is expected to bring 2-5 inches of new snow into Sunday morning for areas above 7,000 feet, with up to 8 inches over some northern mountains.

Saturday’s temperatures are expected to drop across the mountain region, with higher elevations reporting numbers in the mid-40s, according to National Weather Service forecaster Braeden Winters.

As the cooldown continues, snowfall could reach lower elevations — around 4,000 feet — by Sunday and into early next week, Winters said. 

Travel impacts are uncertain, though Meier said there could be some impacts Friday night on some passes. Saturday is expected to be mostly clear for travel, though the snow’s return on Saturday night and Sunday morning could pose some impacts to the Western Slope’s higher roads.

Shifting temperatures have also impacted Colorado’s snowpack, which on March 27 was at 88% of the median and expected to rise. The recent stretch of warm weather, however, has caused more of the snowpack to melt, according to OpenSnow Meteorologist Joel Gratz.

“The snowpack will stabilize and increase during the next 10 days, but it’ll take a lot of luck for it to reach the median peak in early April,” Gratz wrote in his March 27 daily snow report. More snow is expected from Tuesday into Wednesday.