Colorado welcomes summer with up to 2 feet of 'solstice snow'

DENVER -- As much of the country greeted the first day of summer by heading to the beach or basking in the sunshine, some Coloradans bundled up and got their snow shovels ready.

Portions of the state's north-central mountainous areas are forecast to get between an inch and two feet of snow this weekend -- "solstice snowfall," as the National Weather Service in Boulder called it in a tweet.

Snow began falling Thursday evening in some areas and is expected to continue through Sunday, Denver television station KMGH reported.

KMGH said the forecast was "extreme even by Colorado standards" but added that drier and warmer conditions should move in on Monday.

Snow is also in the forecast for portions of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Utah.

A snowstorm temporarily shut down Beartooth Pass, a popular mountain roadway leading to Yellowstone National Park, on Friday. The winding Beartooth Highway reaches nearly 11,000 feet in elevation as it runs from the town of Red Lodge, Montana, to the northeast entrance of Yellowstone, which is entering its busy season.

Snow also closed scenic Trail Ridge Road through Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park on Friday, but it later reopened.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.