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DENVER — Winter arrived early Wednesday morning and a weak cold front will bring down temperatures after reaching the mid-50s on Tuesday.

The winter solstice happened at 3:44 a.m. Wednesday will have the least amount of sunlight of the year, at nine hours, 21 minutes.

The cold front will bring a chance of snow to the northern mountains. There is a 30 percent chance of accumulation along the Interstate 70 corridor and to the north and a 10 percent chance for the metro area north of Colorado Springs.

Any snow that falls along the Front Range will be flurries at best. Otherwise, it will be partly to mostly cloudy, and temperatures will be in the upper 30s to lower 40s.

The system will clear Thursday with temperatures in the low 40s followed by a warm-up on Friday and Saturday with highs in the 50s.

But a stronger front is on target to arrive Saturday night and Christmas Day.

It’s uncertain where the front will go, but it could turn into a a strong snow maker for the mountains and perhaps the Front Range.

A northern path of the front will mean less snow and warmer temperatures on Christmas, but a more southern path will mean colder temperatures with high snowfall amounts.