Colorado snowstorm buries Denver and the Front Range

An upslope continued to bring heavy snow into the Denver metro area from the northeast on Thursday evening. It's shooting into Colorado's northern Front Range, mountains and the Palmer Divide, and that means the impactful snowstorm still has a bit to go before it's done. The snow won't be gone until mid-morning on Friday, and a Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until that time. 

Our Front Range foothills and mountains have been buried with feet of snow. A small community north of Black Hawk known as Aspen Springs had been covered with 4 feet of snow! With many areas coming in with 1 to 3 feet as well.

While many metro areas did in fact pick up a foot of snow or more, the official snowfall total for Denver at Denver International Airport was 5.7 inches of snow.

"We've got the storm out to the east of Colorado giving the Denver region the upslope. At the same time, a big trough is stationed over Phoenix, and it's pulling moisture from the Pacific and the Gulf of California and pushing it across New Mexico, right into southern Colorado. So that will keep the snow machine going through the night," First Alert Chief Meteorologist Dave Aguilera said.

The Denver metro area is expected to get another 2 to 5 inches from this snowstorm. Some foothills areas could see another 4 to 10 inches of snow. Parts of southern Colorado could see their largest accumulations overnight and on Friday. Some southern mountain areas could see 1 to 2 feet of snow.

Wind gusts are also continuing -- some will be as high as 35 mph. The wind speeds are not consistently strong enough for the National Weather Service to be issuing a blizzard warning, however.  

Snow totals from the storm so far across the metro area varied wildly. As of the early afternoon, Highlands Ranch on the southern end had 18 inches and Golden on the western side had slightly more. It has been three years since the metro area has seen snow totals that high. On the northeastern side it has been a different story. Denver International Airport only reached 5.7 inches, although there have been plenty of flight delays and cancellations

The big snow, and the initial rainfall, means a big improvement for Colorado's drought situation

"This is just a moisture bomb that has been coming across the Front Range," Aguilera said. "When everything is said and done -- you count the rain last night, the snow we've had today -- we're going to have water amounts anywhere from 4 to 7-8 inches of measurable water out of this storm. So it's really a godsend."

The heavy, wet snow has many residents are dealing with downed trees and branches, and it has caused issues on Colorado's roads and highways. Interstate 70 is currently closed to all commercial vehicles from Morrison on the western edge of the Denver area all the way to Silverthorne in the mountains. Snowplows have been fighting to keep up with all the work, and many side streets are messy. 

Many students across Colorado's Front Range are enjoying two consecutive snow days. The continuing dangerous driving conditions led some school districts to cancel class on Friday, including Denver Public Schools.

Once the snow ends Friday, mostly dry but cool conditions will prevail through St. Patrick's Day weekend.