The c-c-c-cold overnight is expected to turn into the c-c-c-commute Friday morning as slushy roads turn into the ice rinks across the metro region.
Tonight’s low in Denver will be about 2 degrees.
A bit more snow could fall overnight. The high on Friday could reach 40, before a warmup into the 50s is expected for the weekend, according to the National Weather Service office in Boulder.
“It looks like there is going to be a lot of sunshine around here tomorrow,” Carl Burroughs, National Weather Service meteorologist, said Thursday afternoon.
But a messy morning commute stands in the way, forecasters said.
Snowy and icy road conditions were being reported across the metro region, with snowpack in higher elevations of the foothills. Chain laws are in effect on mountain passes across the High Country.
Today, dozens of metro commuters slid their cars off highways and into one another.
“Every trooper in this area was busy this morning. It would be safe to say we had dozens of accidents,” said Trooper Ryan Sullivan, spokesman for the Colorado State Patrol.
An accident alert is in effect in Douglas, Larimer and Arapahoe counties. People involved in non-injury highway crashes can exchange insurance and ownership information and contact authorities by Internet or by going to a police station, Sullivan said.
Ski resorts will get up to 10 inches of new snow through today along the front range, Burroughs said. The mountains got much more snow.
“We’ve had reports of up to 8 or 10 inches and 10 miles down the road only 2 inches,” Burroughs said.
The roads are slushy and icy.
A winter weather advisory is in effect until 8 p.m. tonight for northern Colorado, including Fort Collins and Loveland, where up to 7 inches of snow could fall.
A separate winter weather advisory will expire at midnight tonight for mountain areas including Vail, Aspen and Rabbit Ears Pass, where up to eight inches of snow is due.
La Veta Pass near Walsenburg on U.S. 160 was closed by the weather. Chains are required on commercial vehicles on I-70 at Vail Pass and the Eisenhower Tunnel, on U.S. 6 at Loveland Pass, and on U.S. 40 at Rabbit Ears Pass.
Road conditions and visibility will vary, and drivers are advised to take extra time and caution to get to their destinations safely.
By Monday, a slight chance of rain and snow returns for Denver.
Denver Post staffer Demetria Gallegos contributed to this report.
