It has been quite an eventful half hour.
The frigid front is moving in as we speak.
Our downtown camera caught some of
this happening just a few minutes ago.
It looks ominous out there,
dark skies, and we know it's coming.
It's going to be cold.
Yeah, the thermometers
are telling a story too.
Take a look at our camera
over Horsetooth Reservoir.
This two in the last half hour and
what once were blue skies certainly
have changed to those clouds.
And a lot of dust being kicked
up by the heavy winds as well.
Our temperature is dropping
quickly and significantly.
They said a gauge out in the
backyard did a little time lapse.
So that drop in the last half
hour when that front moved
through Cheyenne this afternoon,
the temperature went from 43 degrees
to 7 degrees within 30 minutes.
That was a 36 degree drop.
And you've seen here over the
last hour or so I've been watching
the gauge go from what was it,
40, mid
40s down to the low 20s.
It was cut in half and just
the course of a few minutes.
So let's talk about what is coming our way,
what's happening right now
and how long it might be till
it warms up again with Kathy,
Please remember.
And only the messenger.
And I also want to say congratulations,
you made it into winter.
The winter solstice today at 2:47 PM in fall.
We were 50 degrees earlier today
and now we've dropped to 7 degrees.
The Arctic Front is moving in
and soon the snow will follow.
It's been snowing in the
high country all day long,
but so far dry for the evening drive.
Tomorrow morning's drive will be
slick and icy and bitter cold.
Areas of blowing snow will
snarl traffic on I-70 tonight,
a winter storm warning out
for the high country for wind.
And up to a foot of snow.
These are your current readings?
Yes, I see you, eerie. Lafayette.
Broomfield, your emailing, you're calling.
The temperature dropped 30
degrees in 10 minutes.
I know Denver is now down to 5 -,
2 in Greeley.
These are Fahrenheit temperatures.
Minus 8 in Sydney, minus two in Sterling.
The coldest air is still north of us.
And I know a lot of you are wondering why
are you making such a big deal out of it.
We we see numbers below 0
in the winter in Colorado.
Not like this. And not very often.
It has been years.
Maybe even a decade or more that
we've seen extreme cold like this,
with the wind chill potential
to be life threatening at 55 -,
55 for the wind chill values
on the eastern plains.
So we were in the 50s today.
As we get into the overnight hours,
we'll drop below 0.
We're going into the double digits below 0.
That's where you'll find the
numbers tomorrow morning if
you choose to step outside,
which you probably should not,
we are not going to get above 0
for a high temperature tomorrow.
So please keep your pets indoors
if you're cold.
They're cold.
Livestock managers adequate shelter and
water for those animals on the plains.
Windshield warning out through
Friday morning and this could
be record cold because of the
duration because of the rapid drop
in the temperature and the wind
chill values which could create
frostbite on human beings exposed
skin in less than 5 minutes time.
Here's the Snow Brighton
Broomfield Boulder West of Arvada.
It's coming to Denver in the
next hour or two and we're under
a winter weather advisory for
two to four inches of snow.
The timing is kind of laid out.
Were you here and coming up in Maine weather?
We're going to break it all down for you.
How low will the numbers go?
How long will it last?
And how much snow will we see
to impact travel tomorrow?
That's coming
up. Kathy, let's check in
now with Cory Reppenhagen.
Last we saw you,
you were in Thornton.
Are you still in Thornton?
And how does it feel now,
about an hour later, Cory.
Yeah, it's amazing, Jenny.
I'm still in Thornton,
kind of in the same spot I was when
the cold front first came through.
And I can tell you that I've been
doing this job for 27 years,
pretty much just standing in front of the
weather waiting for cold fronts to go by.
And that was the most dramatic cold
front passage I've ever experienced.
We were at 45 degrees at 4:00 o'clock,
and by 4:15 we were at 15
degrees here in Thornton,
30 degrees in about 9 minutes.
Never experienced anything like that,
and I will be willing to bet that there
were many people out in the Denver
metro area along the Front Range,
the eastern plains that
experienced the same thing,
and they were probably caught off
guard just by the power and how
fast the temperature did drop.
Wind kicked up dust.
Ohh, I think we lost Corey.
Hopefully we can check
in with him again later.
Point is, it's very cold out there.
Again, do not be outside if
you can avoid it this week.
Frostbite can happen very quickly,
can turn very serious before you
realize it might just feel like your
fingers and your toes are going numb,
but there's actually a bit more
happening inside your body.
Frostbite is where you have actual ice
crystals that form inside of the tissues,
both in the blood vessels and the cells.
Because the extremity, the finger,
the toe is exposed to too much cold.
While we are familiar with the
red pale skin and the numbness,
you can also get muscle stiffness.
Mild frostbite can be treated
at home with warm water,
but if it's severe the skin
will start to blister.
It's color can turn dark brown or black,
and at that point you really need to see
a doctor and you need to see a doctor.
Quickly,
there are some people who will not have their
own home to rely on tonight for shelter.
City of Denver's got some plans to help
anybody stuck in the freezing cold and
Courtney and is along now to kind of walk
us through with the city's planning.
What's what are the plans for them?
Yeah, Jenny, people looking for
a warm place to stay tonight are
being welcomed here at the Denver
Coliseum to come inside every winter.
There are people experiencing
homelessness who died during
the winter times from exposure.
And today Denver and City Council,
Denver and City and county officials
are saying they want to make sure
anyone needing a place to stay
tonight has somewhere to go.
It's tough. It's cold.
Avian Patterson knew his typical
way of staying warm while sleeping
outdoors wasn't going to be enough for
tonight's dangerously cold temperatures.
I've been in situations where.
I almost froze to death in the cold.
I try to just put on as
much clothes as I can.
I probably put on like 3 pair pants.
Three shirts and a jacket or coat.
Today, he's waiting for a bed
inside the Denver Coliseum.
Along with other people currently
experiencing homelessness,
this facility will be available
to anyone who needs it,
including our neighbors
experiencing homelessness,
the migrants who have recently
arrived in our city and anyone
from the general public who
needs a safe place to be warm.
Inside the Coliseum,
there's space for 250 people,
and Denver officials say
if they run out of beds,
they're working with community
partners to accommodate. Overflow,
the Department of Housing Stabilities
outreach team and our partners have
three dozen staff members working
extended hours till till 9:00 PM daily,
putting all their efforts to getting
people inside safe from this
incoming storm so we can save lives.
The National Guard and Red Cross will
be assisting people at the Coliseum
handing out hygiene kits and food.
The Coliseum is only a temporary
shelter and will stay open until
at least Saturday morning. We have
a strong sheltering system here
in Denver and we always stand.
Ready to meet the needs of our
community of Unhoused residents.
And we've just definitely been experiencing
that rapid drop in temperatures.
Just an hour ago, it was so much warmer
out here and it seemed so quickly that
the winds picked up and then the cold
front really came in here. It is cold.
And if you are looking for a place to stay,
there are shuttles running here to
the Coliseum warming center from the
Saint Francis Center and the Lawrence
St Community Center for People trying
to get a bed here at the Coliseum.
Denver Rec centers and libraries are
also going to be open during normal
operating hours for people who need
a warm place to stay during the day.
All right. Courtney looked cold too,
so why don't we bring you in?
Thank you for your reporting.