DENVER — Denver’s weather took an abrupt turn on Tuesday from Monday’s fire danger and warmer temps as a fast-moving snow storm blew through briefly triggering a snow squall warning for the metro area.
Between 1 and 3 inches of snow accumulation was expected in Denver according to weather forecasters.
The snow squall warning expired for the metro but winter storm warnings remained in effect for Colorado’s northern and central mountains where accumulations of 6 to 12 inches were possible, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Boulder.
“Significant travel impacts from snow, strong winds and blowing snow will continue through this evening,” said the NWS in its early morning report.Vehicle crashes were reported across the Denver area Tuesday morning, including a multi-vehicle crash on Peña Blvd.
The Denver Police Department on social media said Peña Blvd headed away from Denver International Airport was closed at Tower Road, but no injuries were reported.
Highway 93 in Jefferson County was closed between 64th and Hwy 72 for a multi-car crash.
Denver7 News cameras also captured a single-vehicle crash near Speer Blvd. and Grant Street where a small car was seen dangling off a retaining wall above the Cherry Creek Trail. DPD said there was no rescue involved and no injuries were reported.
Denver7 | Weather
Colorado weather blog: Closures, snow and ice impacts for Feb. 27
In Commerce City, several vehicles slid off 96th Avenue due to the snowy roads. “Slide-offs galore,” wrote police on social media.
Denver7 weather forecaster Katie Lasalle said while driving conditions in Denver were expected to improve through the day Tuesday, periods of heavy snow were possible along Colorado’s eastern plains in the afternoon hours.
Light snow showers were also a possibility through the day in Denver but skies were expected to quickly clear out with lots of snow melting expected Wednesday with sunshine and high temperatures warming into the low 50s.
The February blasts of snow have helped Denver get a little closer to normal seasonal snowfall totals, but the metro is still around 10 inches behind for the year.
So far in the 2023-2024 snow season, Denver's snow gauge at DIA shows 24.6 inches. That amount is still behind the cumulative normal at this point in the year of 34.9 inches.
Halfway through February, Denver is already ahead of what we normally see for the month before Friday's snow arrives.
Denver's February snow totals show 9.2 inches which is ahead of the 7.8 inches normally expected during the entire month.
To view the Denver snowfall statistics infographics in fullscreen mode click this link.
DENVER WEATHER LINKS: Hourly forecast | Radars | Traffic | Weather Page | 24/7 Weather Stream
Click here to watch the Denver7 live weather stream.