Heavy snow fell across some parts of north-central Colorado’s mountains Tuesday, particularly the mountains along the Continental Divide west of Denver from Interstate 70 to the Wyoming state line.

Up to of 12 inches was forecast by the National Weather Service in Boulder on the high peaks above 11,000 feet and between 1-3 inches down to 9,000 feet.

What also comes with that snow are varying effects to Colorado’s fall color change, particularly the state’s aspen groves, which typically grow between 6,500 to 11,500 feet-in-elevation.

Freezing temperatures and heavy snow can expedite the leaves falling off the trees due to weight snapping the branches, even if the leaves haven’t fully changed.

Early snow events do not directly affect the aspen’s color change, however, cold temperatures can ‘trick’ the trees into thinking it is further along in the fall cycle, with the tree then dropping its leaves prematurely.

Some remote weather stations across Colorado’s Front Range mountains recorded low temperatures between 29 and 32 Monday night, but that might not have been cold enough to truly ruin the aspen change — the dreaded blackening effect.

“A lot of the trees, I think, will just turn black with the freeze,” said Sharon Harding-Shaw, with Colorado Springs’ Harding Nursery, as reported by Gazette report Seth Boster.

However, Mike Till, a forester with the Colorado State Forest Service field office in Woodland Park, said previously there will probably be some blackening or browning and the leaves could shrivel up and fall off.

Some good news from a quick snow event, like this week’s, is that it probably won’t ruin the second, and most-likely peak weekend, of leaf peeping along Colorado’s Front Range and northern mountains.

The southern and central mountains received little-to-no snow from Monday and Tuesday’s snow event.

State Forest Service forester JT Shave from Salida said of 2020’s event, “one cold spell, one snow is not the end-all. It’s really the pattern after that.”  

The National Weather Service office in Boulder forecasts conditions to dry out and warm back up in the Front Range mountains for the rest of the week and into the weekend, creating ideal conditions for viewers of the fall color change to witness the golds, reds and oranges one more time.

The NWS forecast for popular spots on Guanella, Cameron and Berthoud passes, and near mountain towns Blackhawk, Estes Park, Nederland and Idaho Springs, calls for high temperatures in the low 50s during the day and low temperatures in the low- to mid-30s at night, with no rain or snow showers present.