Metro-area road crews were preparing Friday night for a heavy spring storm that is forecast to blanket the area through this evening with up to 10 inches of snow.
At Denver International Airport, airlines pre-emptively canceled some of today’s flights. Stores in the metro area reported crowds of customers stocking up before the storm.
“(The storm) is why everyone is saying they’re here,” said Brice Dismang, store manager at a Safeway in Federal Heights. “It’s been pretty consistently busy throughout the entire day and it will probably continue to be busy tonight.”
At a King Soopers east of Boulder, employees said grocery sales usually jump $8,000 to $10,000 the day before a storm.
The foothills are expected to receive 12 inches and the mountains about 20 inches of needed snow. Winter-storm warnings are in effect until 6 p.m. today.
Everything will be magnified because of winds of 20 to 30 mph, with gusts up to 40 mph. Driving will be treacherous; even walking could be dangerous, forecasters warned.
Blizzard warnings were to be in effect beginning early this morning for northeastern Weld County, central and eastern Adams County, and all of Arapahoe, Elbert and Morgan counties. The warnings were to remain in effect until midnight.
The Colorado Department of Transportation created a special work shift, which began at 7 p.m. Friday, with 76 snowplows positioned at entrance ramps to the interstates and state highways throughout the metro area, according to spokeswoman Stacey Stegman.
Snowplows and crews at DIA went on full alert at 3 p.m. Friday, de-icing runways and Peña Boulevard, according to Chuck Cannon, DIA spokesman.
United Airlines, the largest carrier at DIA, had been planning for the storm for several days.
Mike Scanlan, United’s general manager at the airport, said Friday that 20 percent of today’s flights had been canceled, with passengers rerouted or given waivers on ticket-change fees.
Forecasters said DIA would receive 5 to 8 inches of snow, which Scanlan said “is not that big of a deal,” but high winds today were expected to make plowing and plane movements tricky.
Frontier Airlines had canceled 38 flights as of 10:30 p.m. Anyone traveling today is advised to visit the carrier’s website, , to check the status of flights and get information on today’s travel policy.
Forecasters warn that driving on highways in the Eastern Plains will become almost impossible. The Red Cross said volunteers are preparing to aid motorists if needed.
Early victims of the storm included high school proms at Thunder Ridge in Highlands Ranch and Castle View in Castle Rock — both scheduled for tonight. The forecast also led the Air Force Academy to cancel its annual Founders Day Parade.
