Powerful winter storm set to bring snow and bitterly cold back to Colorado

A winter storm set to arrive in Colorado Tuesday night will bring much colder temperatures along with a considerable amount of snow for parts of the state.

RELATED: Some Colorado schools cancel classes on Wednesday due to winter storm

For the Denver metro area, a Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for Wednesday from 2 a.m. until 8 p.m. Accumulation in most neighborhoods will range from 3 to 6 inches. The Interstate 70 mountain corridor is also under a Winter Weather Advisory for up to 10 inches of snow all the way to Avon.

Farther north and northwest, the Boulder and Fort Collins areas have a Winter Storm Warning for 4 to 8 inches of snow. Travel will be slick and slow for the most of the day on Wednesday. The morning and evening commutes will be impacted and wind gusts up to 45 mph will also cause blowing snow in some areas.

The worst weather statewide will be found in the eastern San Juan Mountains Tuesday night through Wednesday night where a Blizzard Warning has been issued. The Wolf Creek Pass area will get 1-3 feet of snow along with 80 mph winds which almost guarantees Highway 160 will be closed between Pagosa Springs and the San Luis Valley.

Elsewhere around Colorado, there is a Winter Storm Warning for most other mountain areas including Steamboat Springs, Vail, Aspen, Crested Butte, Telluride. Most of these areas will get 10-20 inches of snow from Tuesday afternoon through Thursday morning making for great skiing but difficult travel.

In terms of temperatures, Wednesday will be at least 35 degrees colder in most areas compared to Tuesday. The coldest weather will wait until early Thursday morning when temperatures are expected to drop below zero along the entire Front Range.