Three to five inches of snow could fall in the metro area by Friday morning, Denver weather forecasters said Wednesday.

The National Weather Service in Boulder predicts warm temperatures Wednesday before a cool off later this week. The high Wednesday should be near 73 degrees, but there’s a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m., the weather service said.

Overnight rain is possible and could turn to a chance of rain and snow by 5 a.m. Thursday, the weather service said.

The high Thursday is only expected to reach 41 degrees with gusty winds up to 17 mph. Forecasters said there’s a 70 percent chance of snow with up to an inch of accumulation during the day.

The big chance for snow comes Thursday night into Friday, when forecasters said there’s a 70 percent chance of snowfall, with three to five inches of accumulation possible by Friday morning. Wind gusts up to 17 mph are again possible.

The high Friday is expected to reach 44 degrees under partly sunny skies. The chance for snow diminishes by noon.

Despite the early chance of snow, April is expected to be warmer and drier than normal through the first half of the month.

Temperatures should rebound this weekend with highs of 59 and 66 on Saturday and Sunday respectively, under sunny skies.