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Localized Storm Socks Part Of Denver With Heavy Snow

DENVER (CBS4) - Some residents of the Denver metro area were surprised on Thursday night as a very localized snow storm left up to 7 inches in just a few hours.

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A CBS4 Weather Watcher measured just over 7 inches of snow from the storm in southeast Aurora. (credit: CBS)
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Heavy snow on New Year's night made driving slow and slick in south and east metro Denver. (credit: CBS4 Meteorologist Chris Spears)
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The intersection at 6th and Airport in east Aurora was icy and snow packed New Year's night. (credit: CBS4 Meteorologist Chris Spears)

The snow was the result of the circulation of winds around a storm system moving through the region.

Those winds helped created a highly localized upslope flow along the Palmer Divide, which is an area of higher terrain between Colorado Springs and Denver.

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(credit: CBS)

The result was a narrow band of moderate to heavy snow that left anywhere from 4 to 7 inches across the eastern side of metro Denver, including Castle Rock, Parker, Lone Tree, Aurora and northeast Denver.

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A CBS4 Weather Watcher in Lone Tree measured 6 inches of snow on New Year's night. (credit: CBS)
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A CBS4 Weather Watcher in Parker measured 5.8 inches of snow on New Year's night. (credit: CBS)

By sharp contrast, locations on the north and west sides of metro Denver saw little to no snow, with most places measuring a half inch or less.

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A CBS4 Weather Watcher in Littleton measured a half inch of snow on New Year's night. (credit: CBS)

MORE: Unique Terrain Is Why Front Range Snow Totals Often Vary

MORE: Extreme Winter Weather in Colorado

The new year is off to a wintry start thanks to a blanket of snow from a series of storms since Christmas.

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A CBS4 Weather Watcher in east Aurora has 7.5 inches of snow on the ground from recent storms.

More snow is in the forecast as we head into the first weekend of 2015, both in the mountains along the Front Range and on the eastern plains.

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