Denver's first snow was the biggest in 11 years, up next is fierce wind

The first snow of the season arrived more than two weeks later than average and brought Denver the biggest first snow of the season since 2012.

The snow that started to fall Thursday afternoon and wrapped up early Friday morning brought 4.5 inches at Denver International Airport. That's the biggest first snowfall of the season since 8.5 inches fell on October 25-26, 2011.

Elsewhere along the Front Range, the highest snowfall total was in Boulder near Baseline and Broadway where 6.6 inches of snow was measured on the grass. Most other areas received between 1-4 inches of snow.

The weather story on Friday quickly shifts from snow to cold with high temperatures only in the 40s or about 15 colder than normal. It will feel more like December or January rather than early November across the entire state of Colorado.

Warmer weather is on the way for the weekend especially on Saturday along the Front Range thanks to strong downsloping winds. Those winds could gust as high as 75 mph in the foothills of Jefferson, Boulder, and Larimer Counties. There is a High Wind Watch for these areas that should eventually become a High Wind Warning from late Friday night through Saturday afternoon.

Most of the wind will never reach the I-25 corridor but gusts up to 35 mph will still be possible on Saturday around Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins. Temperatures will also be about 20 degrees warmer with lower 60s Saturday afternoon.