A slow thaw is underway after days of bitter cold, but it still could be Wednesday before the thermometer gets above freezing.
Bright sunshine is clearing some roads, although what melts will surely freeze again tonight.
In Grand Junction, an estimated 2,000 residents were without heat after a natural gas outage on the coldest day of the year.
A man was killed in Larimer County after he tried to tow his snowbound truck using a tractor. The tractor flipped over and crushed the man.
Numerous accidents jammed metro highways this morning despite light holiday traffic.
Three accidents occurred within minutes of each other on southbound I-25 from University to Evans. At least one pickup truck rolled over in the right-hand lane. Police have not reported any injuries.
Two RTD buses were involved in minor accidents this morning and one woman slid off Santa Fe Drive down the embankment, stopping just short of the river.
At today’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day “Marade” in Denver, an estimated 1,200 participants bundled up against the cold to take part in the march and parade from City Park to Civic Center.
Overnight temperatures dipped well below zero in many parts of the state, including Craig which reported -35 degrees, Meeker at -25, Aspen and Greeley at -15 and Loveland at -8. Denver dropped down to 0 degrees, with Centennial at -4 and Aurora at -2 degrees.
At least 60 families in the Highlands Ranch area are still out of their homes because of a gas leak that occurred Sunday. Xcel Energy predicted the leak would be repaired by 6 p.m. today, and the families will then be allowed to return home.
Carl Burroughs of the National Weather Service said it could be Wednesday before temperatures rise again about 32 degrees. He said Wednesday’s high could hit 34.
