Colorado snowstorm: Travel not advised in Denver and across Front Range, state troopers getting stuck trying to help stranded motorists

Transportation officials in Colorado are sending out a strong warning to drivers: stay home on Thursday during the snowstorm. That includes Denver and all of the Front Range.

Road conditions are dangerous, with icy conditions and some areas where snow has accumulated so much that vehicles are getting stuck. The Colorado State Patrol sent out a tweet before daybreak saying some state troopers are "getting stuck trying to get to all the stranded motorists."

The National Weather Service send out a message on X saying that travel is particularly bad in the foothills and the mountains.

"The Winter Storm Severity Index map shows are large area of extreme impacts," reads a message on the NWS Boulder account.

"There really are some elevation related issues with with this storm," Colorado Department of Transportation Communications Director Matt Inzeo said. "It's no coincidence that the foothills to the west of (Denver) and Monument Hill to the south are our biggest trouble spots. It's because that's where we pick up elevation and where the snowfall rates and the accumulations have been particularly intense."

Some of the major road closures at 10 a.m. included:

- Interstate 70 was closed Thursday morning from Silverthorne in Summit County all the way to the western edge of the Denver metro area (just west of the C-470 interchange).

- Highway 285 southbound was closed just south of Highway C-470.

Denver metro area roads will be less busy because schools are closed across the region Thursday. Many businesses are also closed.

CDOT said their philosophy is that the fewer cars on the roads, the fewer chances there are for crashes. Uncrowded roads also make it easier for snowplows to clear the way.