After a fleeting glimpse into warm weather last week, an arctic blast brought Coloradans back to the snow-packed reality of the season.

A cold front entered the area Tuesday evening, bringing frigid temperatures and snow to Boulder and Longmont on Wednesday morning.

According to the National Weather Service, Boulder has received 57.9 inches of snow during the first two months of the year.

Longmont also has seen a high total, collecting 29.5 inches of snow so far this year. Longmont usually collects an average of 13.9 inches of snow during the first two months of the year.

“The 29.5 inches is the third highest snow total for Longmont for the two-month period dating back to 1910,” area meteorologist Greg Byrd wrote.

Unprecedented warm temperatures occurred during the last months of 2021, and Boulder saw scarcely any snowfall until the new year.

“The first part of the season, basically before January started, we basically had nothing,” said Jim Kalina, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.

The first two months were double the typical snowfall Boulder sees on average at the start of the year, not factoring in the 2021 months, which is normally 26.3 inches by the end of February.

“It’s kind of balanced out, so we’re more than double for the beginning of the first two months, but the last two months of 2021, we were way below. So now it’s kind of averaged out to really near normal,” Kalina said.

Wednesday night was expected to dip down to 4 degrees and dump another three inches of new snow on Boulder.

Although the winter weather on Wednesday slowed down travel plans, Boulder roads have undergone much worse treatment from Mother Nature.

“A day like today (Wednesday), there’s not a lot of traffic out, so we really haven’t gotten a lot (of business),” said Seth, an employee at Marv’s Quality Towing Inc. who asked that his last name not be published. “It kind of varies on what kind of snow we’re getting. This snow’s not necessarily sticking to the ground a whole lot, so we haven’t had a whole lot of action today.”

According to Zach Hiris, a National Weather Service meteorologist, Thursday’s weather calls for remaining snow showers in the morning before sunrise, with a low of 17 degrees.

The sun will emerge Friday and warmer temperatures are expected with highs around the mid-30s. The weekend will bring temperatures in the 50s as the harsh arctic air travels out of Boulder.

Without a doubt, snow sport fanatics are thankful for the late-season cold snaps, as well as businesses that profit more in the colder weather.

“The days that it does stick to the ground and it is kind of compacted or freezing over, things like that, where the road conditions aren’t as good, we definitely do get fairly busy here in town,” Seth said.