DENVER — A major Arctic blast continues in Colorado and the Denver metro area. Denver7 is updating Colorado road and business closures and other impacts.
Below, you can find updates related to traffic and weather as the storm moves through. Refresh this page for the latest. If reading this in the Denver7 mobile app, click here for the latest updates.
LINKS: Closings and Delays | Latest forecast | Radars | Traffic | Weather Page | 24/7 Weather Stream
Tuesday, January 16
1:00 p.M. | DIA LATEST | Delays and cancellations in and out of Denver International Airport have only continued to worsen throughout the day:
- Total DIA delays: 385
- Total cancellation at DIA: 132
12:15 P.M. | I-70 CLOSURE | Eastbound I-70 is closed between Hidden Valley and Beaver Brook/Floyd Hill due to adverse conditions and safety concerns, CDOT said.
There's a detour in place.
#I70 eastbound: Road closed due to safety concerns between Exit 243 - Hidden Valley and Exit 248 - Beaver Brook/Floyd Hill. https://t.co/2vPCLB1Lfa
— Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) (@ColoradoDOT) January 16, 2024
11:57 A.M. | PARKER WATER MAIN BREAK | The line near the roundabout at Twenty Mile Road and Lincoln Meadows Parkway in Parker froze due to the weather, causing it to break last night.
No customers were without water, according to the Parker Water & Sanitation District, because the line that broke is in place for future expansion.
"It is expected to be repaired this afternoon. We needed the weather to warm up a bit for excavation and pumping," the Parker Water & Sanitation District said.
11:20 A.M. | 7-DAY SNOW TOTALS AT SKI RESORTS | While the snow has caused problems for some Coloradans' travel plans, it's been great news for skiiers and snowboarders across the state.
These are some of the 7-day snow totals from Colorado ski resorts, according to the communications manager at Crested Butte Mountain Resort:
- 48 inches at Crested Butte
- 37 inches at Vail Mountain
- 36 inches at Breckenridge
- 32 inches at Beaver Creek
- 29 inches at Keystone Resort
The four feet of snow allowed Crested Butte to "open the High Lift T-bar to the public for the first time this season, offering access to extreme terrain, including Headwall and Big Chute," Julie Block, communicates manager for Crested Butte.
9:49 A.M. | WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY | Strong winds near the southern Front Range foothills is causing blowing snow, prompting NWS Boulder to put a Winter Weather Adivsory in effect until 5 p.m. Tuesday. There are blizzard conditions along Highway 93 and westbound I-70 from Denver to the foothills, NWS Boulder said.
9:44 A.M. | HEAVY TRAFFIC FROM SILVERTHORNE TO GEORGETOWN | Eastbound I-70 is seeing traffic back up from Silverthorne to Georgetown, as visible on CDOT cameras in the area.
9:33 A.M. | WHITEOUT CONDITIONS ON HIGHWAY 72 | There are also whiteout conditions on Highway 72, in addition to Highway 93, the Coal Creek Fire Department said on the social media site X.
The CDOT weather station at Coal Creek Canyon shows sustained winds of 26 mph and gusts over 58 mph.
There are whiteout conditions and blowing snow on Highway 72 and Highway 93. Please avoid travel here, if you can. Multiple vehicles are getting stuck there, and in frigid temperatures. pic.twitter.com/P3rUP1V4MI
— CoalCreekCanyonFD (@CCCFD) January 16, 2024
Multiple drivers are getting stuck in the blowing snow and in frigid temperatures, CCFD said.
9:23 A.M. | US 285 CLOSURE | US 285 is closed in both directions between Colorado State Highway 9 and Geneva Creek in Fairplay due to safety concerns, CDOT said.
The CDOT weather station between Kenosha Pass and Fairplay tracked winds as high as 41 mph and gusts up to 60 mph.
Gusts are intermittent while winds are sustained.
9:15 A.M. | DIA LATEST | According to FlightAware, Denver International Airport is reporting the latest winter weather impacts:
- Total DIA delays: 185
- Total cancellation at DIA: 120
Southwest Airlines has the highest number of delays with 70 flights behind schedule, according to FlightAware. And United has the most cancellations with 69 flights that won't arrive or depart DIA as originally planned.
DIA has the highest number of delayed and canceled flights both leaving and arriving of any airport across the country, according to FlightAware.
Local News
Snow, ice create travel nightmare across all of Colorado
8:51 A.M. | US 6 CLOSURE | Eastbound and westbound US 6 are closed due to safety concerns between Montezuma Road and I-70 - Loveland Pass - CDOT said in a post on the social media site X.
Hazmat vehicles are ready and waiting at Eisenhower Tunnel and are expected to run at 9 a.m. or as traffic allows, according to CDOT.
#US6 eastbound/westbound: Road closed due to safety concerns between Montezuma Road and I-70; Loveland Pass. Hazmat vehicles are to stage at Eisenhower Tunnel and will be run at the top of the hour or as traffic allows. https://t.co/auNWOVO5X2
— Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) (@ColoradoDOT) January 12, 2024
7:22 A.M. | WHITEOUT CONDITIONS ON HIGHWAY 93 | Blowing snow created whiteout conditions along Highway 93 between Golden and Boulder, forecasters in the National Weather Service Boulder office said. They recommended avoiding travel on Highway 93 Tuesday morning.
6:57 A.M. | DENVER TIES RECORD LOW TEMP | The lowest temperature in Denver was -19 degrees Fahrenheit at 12:34 a.m. Tuesday. This ties the record set in 1930, according to the National Weather Service.
While we didn't break the all-time record low for Denver this morning (-29°F), we met a daily one! Maybe it's for the best, right?🥶The low was -19°F at 12:34 AM tying the record set in 1930. It dropped to -19° before midnight also, shy of the yesterday's record of -20°. #COwx
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) January 16, 2024
The all-time record low for Denver is -29 degrees Fahrenheit, the NWS Boulder office said in a post on the social media site X.
Denver7 | Weather
Denver tied a 94-year-old daily record low temperature on Tuesday
6:56 A.M. | PARKER WATER MAIN BREAK | The roundabout at Twenty Mile Road and Lincoln Meadows Parkway will be closed after a water main break occurred, Parker Police Department said in a Facebook post.
"Please avoid the area as Parker Public Works and Parker Water will be working to resolve the situation," Parker PD said.
5:59 A.M. | DENVER SEVERE WEATHER SHELTER | The City and County of Denver is extending its cold weather shelter from 7 p.m. Tuesday through 7 a.m. Friday, Jan. 19, the Department of Housing Stability announced in a news release.
Buses will take people from the St. Francis Center between 6:30-9 p.m. through Thursday night to the Denver Navigation Campus and New Directions cold weather shelters and back to day shelter and warming centers each morning, the news release said.
Anyone in need of shelter can go to the city's "front door" shelters:
- For individual men - Lawrence Street Community Center, 2222 Lawrence St.
- For individual women - Samaritan House, 2301 Lawrence St.
- For youth ages 15-20 - Urban Peak, 2100 Stout St.
- Families in need of shelter can call the Connection Center at 303-295-3366
Denver7 | Weather
Colorado weather: When it will finally warm to above freezing in Denver
5:42 A.M. | I-70 CLOSURE | Eastbound Interstate 70 between Colorado State Highway 9 in Silverthorne and US 6 in Friscoe is closed due to safety concerns, CDOT posted on the social media site X.
#I70 eastbound: Road closed due to safety concerns between Exit 203 - CO 9; East Frisco and Exit 205 - US 6; CO 9; Silverthorne. https://t.co/OsEY8F8wOD
— Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) (@ColoradoDOT) January 16, 2024
5:30 A.M. | SCHOOL CLOSURES | Dozens of schools and businesses are closed across the Denver metro area or opening on a delay due to the freezing temperatures. You can find the latest list here.
Weather News
Dozens of schools across Denver metro close Monday, Tuesday
5:22 A.M. | TUESDAY FORECAST | Denver7 morning weather forecaster Katie LaSalle says the bitter cold will stick around through later this morning.
A Wind Chill Warning remains in effect until 11 a.m. Tuesday. Wind chill values hit as low as -20 to -30 degrees.
Then, high temperatures will warm to the low to mid-30s across the Denver metro area by this afternoon.
Read the latest forecast here.
Click here to watch the Denver7 live weather stream.