Denver Weather: Storm Moves Away Leaving Frigid Temperatures, Huge Snow Behind
DENVER (CBS4) - Historic snow has fallen in Boulder and Fort Collins and many areas along the Front Range have seen the most snow in three years. The storm quickly moves into Nebraska Tuesday afternoon leaving very cold air and big piles of snow behind.
The Colorado Department of Transportation urged drivers to stay off the roads on Colorado's Front Range, in the foothills and on the Eastern Plains. They described the road conditions as "treacherous" just about everywhere.
"Do not consider going out unless your vehicle is equipped for the snow," CDOT wrote in a news release. "Winter tires with adequate tread is essential. You must take it slow, do not pass plows, leave a safe space behind the vehicle ahead and expect road closures."
(credit: CBS)
The highest snow totals have been in the foothills of Boulder and Larimer Counties where amounts have approached 3 feet in some areas.
Drake 33.0"
Livermore 32.0"
Coal Creek Canyon 30.0"
Genesee 26.0"
Eldorao Springs 23.9"
Nederland 22.3"
Boulder 17.6" (second most snow on record in Boulder in November)
Fort Collins 15.5" (second most snow on record in Fort Collins in November)
Highlands Ranch 15.5"
Loveland 14.9"
Berthoud 13.0"
Timnath 12.4"
Broomfield 12.0"
Evergreen 11.5"
Lakewood 11.0"
Erie 11.0"
Littleton 10.2"
Northglenn 10.0"
Fort Morgan 9.5"
Denver/Downtown 9.0"
Greeley 8.1"
Meanwhile, Denver International Airport has officially reported 7 inches of snow as of 5 a.m. and there were hundreds of canceled flights on this busy Thanksgiving week travel day. Right now this is 5th snowiest storm in the last 3 years just behind the infamous bomb cyclone back in March.. That ranking should go up.
Meanwhile, most ski areas have seen less snow than Denver and the Front Range. But there is still plenty of fresh powder to be found in the mountains ahead of Thanksgiving.
A blizzard warning has expired for a big chunk of Colorado's Eastern Plains but a Winter Storm Warning remained in effect until Tuesday evening. As a result of the dangerous conditions, there are closures in place for Interstate 76 and Interstate 70 east of the metro area. A Winter Storm Warning for the Denver area expired at 2 p.m.
A rock slide near Idaho Springs closed Interstate 70 westbound in the morning and the closure lasted until the early afternoon. A fatal crash also took place on I-70 near Avon in the snowy conditions.
You probably could have guessed it, but the few school districts that were scheduled to have classes on Tuesday have pretty much all canceled school.
The snow will quickly clear by Tuesday evening. In the wake of the storm, we will be left behind with bitter cold temperatures. We'll drop to the single digits on Tuesday night. We will be cold but dry on Thanksgiving. And then we're watching another storm on Friday that is heading our way.
