Colorado's projected snow totals for Denver and other parts of the state

The biggest winter storm to hit Colorado's Front Range in at least 3 years will hammer the Denver area through Friday morning.

The storm initially brought nearly an inch of rain on Wednesday and was enough to break the daily precipitation record in the city for March 13. Once the rain transitioned to snow early Thursday morning, snowfall rates were up to 1 inch per hour in Denver and over 2 inches per hour in the foothills.

The snow is heavy and wet which means broken tree limbs and power outages will continue to be a concern through the duration of the storm.

Downtown Denver snow totals biggest in 3 years

For much of the Denver metro area, this storm will bring the biggest snow totals seen since a storm on March 13-14, 2021 brought 27.1 inches of snow. As of Thursday morning, downtown Denver had about 6-8 inches of snow with another 8-12 inches expected through Friday morning. That said, significantly less snow on Denver's northeast side meant the airport had no measurable snow as of 8 a.m. Thursday.

Southern and western suburbs of Denver will be shoveling at least 18 inches of snow

This storm is benefiting from strong "upslope". A northeasterly wind sweeping across Colorado's Eastern Plains is being forced upward when it reaches the foothills and the Palmer Divide in Douglas and Elbert Counties. The upward motion causes enhanced snowfall and higher snow totals.

This is why the lower elevations of Jefferson County including Golden and Lakewood, western Arapahoe County including Littleton, and locations like Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Castle Rock, and Castle Pines in Douglas County will likely have the highest snow totals in the metro area. Most neighborhoods in these communities will get another 10-15 inches of snow through Friday morning.

Colorado foothills getting buried, more than 3 feet of snow expected

The heaviest additional accumulation will be in the foothills of Jefferson, Boulder, and Larimer counties including most areas between 6,000 and 9,000 feet west of Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins. These areas will see an additional 15 to 25 inches of snow.

Snow totals over 3 feet will be common and some areas particularly along the Peak-to-Peak Highway could measure more than 4 feet which is unusual for a single storm even for the high country.

Ski areas in central and northern mountains will measure snow in feet instead of inches

Eldora Ski Area located 15 miles west of Boulder measured 30 inches so far and announced they will be closed on Thursday. Other Colorado ski areas including Loveland, Arapahoe Basin, and Echo Mountain will also not open on Thursday due to closed roads. Others like Breckenridge and Keystone are planning to stay open.