Major interstates in Colorado were closed west of Denver and hundreds of flights were canceled Thursday as the biggest snowstorm since 2021 dumped heavy snow on the Rocky Mountain front.
The winter storm could dump more than a foot of snow in the Denver metro area, and several feet in the mountains west of the city.
The Colorado Department of Transportation has closed more than 50 miles in both directions of Interstate 70 between metro Denver and Silverthorne, Colorado, due to safety concerns caused by winter weather.
Commercial vehicles are also prohibited from traveling from Vail to Morrison until at least noon Friday.
“We’re seeing problems with commercial motor vehicles,” Matthew Inzeo with the Colorado Department of Transportation told FOX Weather. “Law-abiding 18-wheelers are trying to sneak past without chains on their tires, but in such extreme circumstances that doesn’t work very well.”
“We’re pulling out semi-trucks one at a time. They’re stuck on a pretty steep grade,” Inzeo said of the Eisenhower Tunnel area of Interstate 70. “But once that’s done, I think our plows will be able to get a few passes through.”
I-25 is also not good. Colorado State Patrol posted on social media: It’s frozen and snowy. Slopes and side streets are even worse! ”
Inzeo said DOT’s 1,600 employees will be working 12-and-a-half hour shifts around the clock until the storm passes and all lanes are cleared.
The state has a total of 875 plows, 100 of which are dedicated to Denver and another 40 serving the “ski corridor” that runs from Denver through ski resorts to the Continental Divide.
Colorado Springs officials warned that residential areas may not be cleared of snow until Saturday.
An ambulance responding to a medical emergency got stuck at Highland Ranch and a snow plow had to come to the rescue.
As of noon Thursday, up to 45.5 inches of snow had already fallen in Aspen Springs, in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado.
Aspen Park, Colorado, near the Denver metro area, about 30 miles southwest of Denver and about 8,400 feet above sea level in the Rocky Mountain Front, reported 36 inches of snow.
Denver officially recorded 9 inches of snow as of Thursday afternoon, and that number is growing.
After a relative lull in the snowfall Thursday morning, it’s back in full swing across Denver, with winds gusting up to 35 miles per hour.
The FOX Prediction Center said the heavy snow will continue into the evening and into Friday.
Not everyone was able to evacuate due to the heavy snowfall. Marley, who lives in the Denver metro area, looked more like a puppy than a 13-year-old lab.
This powerful winter storm is the first in three years since Denver last saw a significant snowstorm, when the Mile High City saw well over 2 feet of snow during the March 14, 2021 storm. happen.
The FOX Prediction Center predicts snowfall totals will not be as high as the March 2021 storm, but the city of Denver is expected to receive between 8 and 12 inches of snow.
However, due to varying elevations along the Front Range, a wide range of totals is expected across the Denver metro area.
Boulder is slightly higher in elevation than Denver, so you could see more than a foot of snow.
“Totals will be even higher in the western suburbs,” said FOX Weather meteorologist Britta Merwin. “So if you live in Littleton and Morrison and go up the hill country, you’re going to see a lot more than if you live in Aurora.”
Two to four feet of snow is expected in mountain and foothill regions, including Golden, Morrison and Nederland. This winter storm could have dumped 2 to 3 feet of snow in Idaho Springs.
Further travel impacts are expected, especially on major highways such as Interstate 25, Interstate 70, and Interstate 80.
“Do not go to the foothills! If you do, be prepared to be stranded for an extended period of time,” the National Weather Service office in Boulder warned. “Travel in metro Boulder and metro Denver could become difficult and many neighborhood streets could become impassable.”
Additionally, as of Thursday morning, Denver International Airport had reported more than 800 canceled flights, nearly half of all flights, according to FlightAware.
Ahead of the storm, Denver Public Schools officials announced all schools and administrative offices would be closed Thursday and Friday due to the weather.
The U.S. Air Force Academy north of Colorado Springs also announced Thursday it would close and cancel all classes.
The weight of heavy, wet snow could also cause trees and large branches to fall and fall on power lines, causing scattered power outages.
Power companies are working hard to respond to power outages.
“And they keep falling,” West Metro Fire posted about power lines blocking roads.
Snow will continue through Thursday and most of Thursday night, ending early Friday morning.
However, snow is expected to continue falling in mountainous areas of southern Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona into Friday.
