Littleton Valentine's Day Weekend Weather Forecast: Snow, Cold

LITTLETON, CO — Frigid temperatures are hitting Littleton and the rest of Colorado, and they're expected to drop even lower over the Valentine's Day weekend.

The polar vortex is teaming up with high winds to bring harsh conditions to many central U.S. states. In our state, eastern regions will be hit the hardest, but frigid temperatures are expected across the Front Range.

There's a 40 percent chance of snow on Friday in Littleton, with a low of 4 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. That low will drop Saturday to 1 degree, with a 20 percent chance of snow.

You can expect a low around zero on Sunday, but the temperature is expected to rise on Monday into the teens.

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Colorado's record cold temperature was recorded on Feb. 1, 1985, when the temperature in Maybell — in northwest Colorado — was 61 degrees below zero, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Center for Environmental Education.

That temperature record may not be broken in this blast of bitter arctic air, but the polar vortex is unusual because the frigid cold is expected to stick around at least through Valentine’s Day.

A meteorological phenomenon that hasn't hit the United States since 2019, a polar vortex is a large area of low pressure located near the poles; and at times during the winter months, the low pressure breaks down, sending south all that bottled-up cold air.

The result? Extremely frigid temperatures and huge plunges of cold air.

This one is living up to its billing.

It has been frightfully cold over much of the north-central United States. On Tuesday, double-digit subzero temperatures were common as far south as Iowa, and the National Weather Service in Grand Forks, North Dakota, warned the frigid temperatures are made worse by a wind that may make it feel like minus 50 degrees through Sunday.