Colorado was hit today with the second of the week’s one-two winter punch as snow dumped on much of the state, creating hazardous road conditions and forcing the cancellation of more than 150 flights.
Up to 8 inches of snow was expected in Denver, on top of the nearly 8 inches that fell Tuesday, the city’s snowiest Christmas on record.
The National Weather Service issued a winter-storm warning for much of the state.
Snow will continue across all of northeast Colorado though this evening, according to forecasters.
The Eastern Plains could get up to a foot of snow, and the foothills west of Denver are expected to receive 5 to 10 inches. Lesser amounts are forecast for areas north of Denver through the Interstate 25 corridor.
Southwestern Colorado could get the most snow from this storm, as much as 20 inches or more, according to forecasters.
At Denver International Airport, today’s snow fell as the airport is experiencing high volume, with an estimated 160,000 passengers a day, according to DIA officials.
Volume is expected to stay high through Sunday, officials said.
United Airlines canceled about 150 Denver flights, and Denver-based Frontier Airlines also canceled several flights today.
Nearly all of the other flights that are still operating are delayed.
Visibility at the airport was very low.
The Federal Aviation Administration has put in an air-traffic control ground delay program, causing delays averaging an hour to two hours, depending on the airline.
Airlines are advising passengers to check their flight status online and to allow extra time to get to the airport.
Frontier is waiving certain fees for travelers who are scheduled to fly today and want to change their itineraries, with more information at .
Randy and Judy Freides were heading to Las Vegas on a 1:23 p.m. flight. They called ahead and were told the flight was rescheduled for 1:55 p.m. They had arrived well-over two hours in advance.
“We’re optimistic,” Judy Freides said.
Long lines at United’s ticket counter caused Jessica Brown to miss her 11:41 a.m. flight to Oakland, Calif.
Brown was in line at 10:30 a.m., but it took 45 minutes for her to reach the ticket counter. She was told it was too late to check her bags and that she would have to fly standby on a later flight.
During her wait in line, Brown had pleaded with United personnel because her flight was leaving soon.
“I made all the cutoffs,” but they said there was nothing they could do, Brown said.
The airline offered standby on a 1:59 p.m. flight to San Francisco, which was sold out. Brown was the fifth in line on standby status.
Kelly Yamanouchi contributed to this report.
Jeffrey Leib: 303-954-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com
