An early season snowstorm is expected to clobber much of Colorado and parts of New Mexico starting Friday afternoon, amid what could be its largest first snowstorm of the season in decades.
The National Weather Service said snowfall accumulations from Friday into Saturday morning could be significant, with 12 to 20 inches expected over the Palmer Divide (south of Denver and north of Colorado Springs), eight to 14 inches across Greater Denver and Boulder, and eight to 16 inches for the mountains and southern foothills.
“Treacherous winter driving conditions can be expected in many areas by this evening well into Saturday,” the service said on Friday.
Hundreds of miles of roads were already closed because of worsening conditions, stretching as far east as Kansas. The Colorado Department of Transportation said commercial and towed vehicles were prohibited from traveling on two major interstates — I-70 and I-25 — starting at 4 p.m. on Friday through Saturday because of “extreme to impossible” weather conditions on the roadways.
Heavy, wet snow and high winds are expected, the agency said, and “long duration road closures are very likely.”
The combination of heavy snow rates and gusty winds will lead to blizzard conditions in some areas, the service said.
About 445 arriving and departing flights at Denver International Airport were canceled as of 3 p.m. on Friday, according to FlightAware.com, with more than 460 delays. Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre, a popular event venue, postponed weekend shows. State offices were also closed for the day.
The most intense snowfall should begin to taper off overnight Friday, the Weather Service said, with some lighter snow possibly lingering into Saturday morning. Snow could fall one to two inches per hour Friday afternoon.
About 4.5 million people were under ” rel=”noopener noreferrer” target=”_blank”>a winter storm warning in the region, with 41,100 under a blizzard warning in northeastern New Mexico, where forecasters predicted four to 20 inches of additional snow and severe impacts on travel.
Freezing fog lowered visibility for the Albuquerque metro area and Rio Grande Valley, the Weather Service said, with snow-covered roads along parts of I-25 and major bumper-to-bumper backups elsewhere.
Coming off a warm October, the strength and duration of the storm may be a shock for many in the Denver area. But early November has been average timing for the city’s first snowfall over the last 10 years, with the earliest coming on Sept. 8, 2020, and the latest on Dec. 10, 2021.
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