DENVER — A brief period of blizzard conditions are possible Monday along Colorado’s Palmer Divide and along I-70 near Limon as a strong winter storm has triggered weather alerts across the higher elevations.
While southeast Colorado should see the brunt of this storm, snow is expected to begin in the Denver metro area overnight into the Monday morning commute potentially making for some slick spots on roadways.
The Colorado Department of Transportation is warning Denver-area drivers that they should expect snow to accumulate quickly due to below freezing pavement temperatures ahead of the storm.
Snowfall totals range from less than an inch to up to 4 inches of accumulation in isolated areas of the Denver metro and Colorado’s northeastern plains.
"From Denver, south towards Colorado Springs is where we're seeing some of the trickiest conditions," said Denver7 meteorologist Lisa Hidalgo. "South on I-25 and east on I-70, not only do we have snowfall but gusty winds out of the north."
Numerous winter weather alerts have been issued ahead of the storm.
The Denver metro area is under a winter weather advisory beginning at midnight lasting through 2 p.m. Monday.
Areas under the advisory include Brighton, Boulder, Arvada, Golden, Lakewood, among other communities where blowing snow could reduce visibility making for treacherous driving conditions.
Denver7 | Weather
Colorado winter weather blog: Latest road conditions, closures and alerts
A blizzard warning went into effect Monday morning at 5 a.m. for Colorado's far southeastern counties where dangerous travel conditions are expected including along I-70 in far eastern Colorado. The National Weather Service (NWS) in Boulder warned heavy snow could develop and conditions could rapidly deteriorate through the day and will not improve until Tuesday.
The counties of Cheyenne and Kit Carson are included in the blizzard warning.
Awinter storm warning is in effect from midnight until 2 p.m. Monday including areas of Elbert, Douglas and Lincoln Counties where heavy snow and wind gusts up to 55 mph are expected. The cities of Castle Rock, Agate, Larkspur, Kiowa and Limon are included in the warning area.
The National Weather Service (NWS) in Boulder said motorists may encounter visibility near zero and widespread blowing snow making for treacherous travel Monday morning.
Snowfall accumulations in these areas range between 2 and 7 inches, said the NWS.
In addition to the winter storm watch, a winter weather advisory goes into effect at 9 p.m. Sunday through 2 p.m. Monday for Jefferson, west Douglas and northeast Park Counties for high wind gusts and snowfall accumulations between 3 and 7 inches in the Southern Front Range Foothills. The cities of Georgetown, Bailey, Idaho Springs, Evergreen and Westcreek are included in the advisory.
A winter weather advisory remained in effect for West Elk and Sawatch Mountains where up to 12 inches of snowfall was possible through Monday.
Check the latest winter weather alerts in Colorado here.
Snow rolls out of the state with a break on Tuesday before another round arrives into Colorado’s high country, dropping much-needed accumulations over the state’s ski resorts.
Expected snowfall totals in the Denver metro area range between less than an inch to around 4 inches in some areas by the time the storm moves through Monday, with more rounds of heavier snow forecasted through Wednesday for Colorado’s higher elevations including Winter Park, Kremmling, Evergreen, Keystone and Copper Mountain.
Along with the snow, a cold blast of arctic air settles into Colorado for the week with afternoon high temperatures struggling to reach the mid-30s, except for Tuesday in the Denver-area which will see mostly sunny skies and a high of 45 degrees.
By the end of the week, Denver’s high temperatures will only reach the mid to upper 20s as more light snow is expected.
Overnight low temps will dip into the upper teens through the weekend.
WEATHER LINKS: Closings and Delays | Latest forecast | Radars | Traffic | Weather Page | 24/7 Weather Stream
You can always watch 24/7 weather, radar and news updates on the free Denver7+ app on your TV.
Click here to watch the Denver7 live weather stream.