It will be a cold and wet weekend in Colorado, according to the National Weather Service, as showers and thunderstorms move through urban areas and the mountains prepare for snowfall.

Friday is the last day of above-normal temperatures and dry conditions before Colorado is hit with thunderstorms and snow on Saturday, NWS weather officials said in a hazardous weather forecast.

In Denver, temperatures will drop from a forecast high of 88 degrees on Friday to 69 degrees on Saturday — a difference of nearly 20 degrees — according to NWS forecasters. Temperatures will drop even further on Sunday, where a high of near 56 degrees is forecast.

Showers and thunderstorms are expected to move into the metro area around 3 p.m. Saturday and strengthen through the evening, meteorologists said. The stormy weather will continue in the Denver area Sunday, ending around noon.

According to NWS weather experts, thunderstorms are possible at higher elevations, alternating with snow showers.

Thunderstorms and showers near Rocky Mountain National Park, at an elevation of about 7,500 feet, will change to snow around 8 p.m. Saturday afternoon, NWS meteorologists say.

Meteorologists say the storm could continue even as snow begins to fall, with the park seeing up to three inches of snow.

NWS meteorologists say up to eight inches of snow could fall on Longs Peak, the highest point in Rocky Mountain National Park at 14,000 feet, on Saturday.