Denver's record rainfall (0.80 inches) on Wednesday quickly turned to snow by early Thursday morning. Then, after sunrise, the snow fell into a lull as expected. heavier snow will re-develop Later that day.
CBS Colorado has declared a First Alert Weather Day until 6 a.m. Friday, when a winter storm warning expires.
As expected, large amounts of snow have already been reported in the foothills, with 36 inches reported in Conifer, 31 inches in neighboring Holland, and 27 inches in Genesee (as of 11 a.m.).
Heavy snow may be attractive to skiers and snowboarders, but Travel is strongly discouraged It will be impossible in many areas at high altitude until early Friday morning. Many ski areas will be closed Thursday for road closures, including Eldora, Arapahoe Basin, Loveland, Loveland and Echo Mountain.
Snowfall amounts could exceed 1 inch per hour as heavier snow returns in the metropolitan area by Thursday afternoon.
Additional snowfall amounts will range from 8 to 12 inches for most of Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, Broomfield, Boulder, Longmont and surrounding areas. There will be sharp road closures to the north and east, with less than 6 inches of additional snow expected on I-76 in Fort Collins, Brighton, DIA and northeast of Denver. And much less is expected in Greeley and much of Weld County.
As of 6 a.m. Thursday, no snow had yet been observed at Denver's airport. That will change eventually, but denver international airport We'll end up with much less snow than downtown.
Meanwhile, travel will be extremely difficult in much of Douglas and Jefferson counties, where another 10 to 15 inches of snow is expected into Friday morning. Highway 285 above Morrison, Interstate 70 above Golden, and Highways 34 and 36 above 6,500 feet of elevation will receive an additional 15 to 25 inches of snow.
Some areas in the foothills will receive more than 4 feet of snow.
The good news about this storm is that the center of the storm is hundreds of miles away, so winds won't be a big factor in most areas. Wind gusts could still reach up to 35 mph, but no blizzard conditions are expected.
If the snow stops early Friday, mostly dry but cool weather will continue through St. Patrick's Day weekend.
