Some gardens in Southwest Colorado could get nipped Wednesday night by the first frost of the season.

The overnight low in Durango is expected to drop to 29 degrees for about two or three hours early Thursday, a freeze that will likely be felt by tomatoes and other sensitive garden plants, said Chris Cuoco, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.

“It could definitely be hard enough to damage them,” he said.

Temperatures could rebound to the upper 30s and 40s on Thursday and Friday, he said. But Sunday and Monday overnight temperatures could drop again to below freezing, he said.

The timing of the first hard frost of the season and the general drop in overnight lows is about average for the area, Cuoco said.

Colder temperatures should coincide with calmer winds, a change from the gusty weather that swept through the region last weekend and the first part of this week, he said.

Temperatures in the Cortez area are expected to drop to 37 degrees. Thursday’s high is expected to reach 72 degrees.

Gardeners still waiting for some vegetables to ripen can try to save their plants using plastic jugs and water, said Linley Dixon with Adobe House Farm.

Placing plastic jugs filled with water around plants during the day can capture energy that can then help keep the plants warm overnight, she said.

“Water has this capacity to store a ton of energy,” she said.

Covering the plants and water jugs overnight can help keep plants warm during lighter frosts, she said.

mshinn@durangoherald.com