Although weather and roads in Denver have been largely fine, there has been a fatal crash in the high country.
Well, in typical Colorado fashion, the current storm is a little tough to forecast. However, there's still a chance we end up with about an inch or two of snow in Denver before Friday.
What wasn't forecasted extremely well was the possibility of freezing drizzle and freezing fog. Those are very hard parameters to forecast for, especially in and around Denver due to the overall lack of varying temperatures that were expected and the amount of low-level moisture that was around. In fact, a winter weather advisory was issued earlier this morning for the possibility of accumulating ice! You probably didn't even hear about the winter weather advisory, but what you did notice was the amount of ice you had to scrape from your car and the icy patches on the roads.
The winter weather advisory has since expired.
So, what did we actually see snowfall wise? In Denver, obviously not much, but there was some impressive snow around the state!
The Front Range and Plains woke to freezing drizzle and no barely a trace of snow - however, the mountains, especially the San Juan mountains, woke to 8-16" of snow! #COwx #Denver pic.twitter.com/FFulqIELoP
— Andy Stein (@AndySteinWx) November 21, 2019
Some areas in southwest Colorado picked up over a foot of snow overnight! Snow has been rather continuous since Wednesday up in the high country and will continue through Friday morning. For those of us in Denver, snow showers and flurries have picked up in intensity this afternoon. This will continue to produce slick spots on the roads. Thanks to an icy morning, even light snow will have no issue sticking to the ground and the side roads. We've already seen that in some areas around the metro.
12:38 pm Snow is steady enough on the west side to make roads slushy and snow packed in spots. This is 6th Ave near Indiana. #COwx #4wx @DaveCBS4 @AshtonCBS4 @LaurenCBS4 @JefGurney pic.twitter.com/ydNS0Tnwnt
— Chris Spears (@ChrisCBS4) November 21, 2019
Icy roads lead to multiple crashes on Wednesday, which shut down I-70 in both directions. On I-70, traction laws are in place between Vail and Copper Mountain, from Silverthorne to Georgetown, and from Idaho Springs and Denver/C470. On US 24 westbound, traction laws are in place near Battle mountain, and on CO 91 South, traction laws are in effect near Fremont Pass.
And although those traction laws are in place, there are still numerous accidents that have been reported. One of those crashes on US 6 near Keystone Ski Resort turned fatal.
CRASH UPDATE: This crash is now a fatal crash. Expect an extended westbound closure of HWY 6 at MP 214 for crash investigation.#cotraffic
— CSP Eagle (@CSP_Eagle) November 21, 2019
Crash investigation is underway and US 6 will reopen when possible. For now, it's best to avoid traffic in the area, as US 6 has been reduced to one lane.
Going forward, yes, it's still possible for Denver to pick up up to 2" of snow. This will create a travel headache for the Thursday evening commute and likely the Friday morning commute since light snow may continue into the nighttime hours.
As we head into Friday and the weekend, skies will clear and temperatures will rise. We're expecting highs in the mid-40s on Friday, followed by the mid-50s on Saturday and close to 60 degrees on Sunday! Enjoy the clear skies while we have them. Next week looks to be snowy as well.
Next week looks snowy for just about everyone in the state! Early model suggestions from the ECMWF have a half a foot of snow for #Denver between Monday and Wednesday.
— Andy Stein (@AndySteinWx) November 21, 2019
And lots of snow coming for the mountains! #COwx pic.twitter.com/lm4UWNwsby
Stay warm, stay safe, and keep checking back for more information on next week's storm!
