Forecasters aren’t mincing words about the arctic chill that has settled on Colorado: It’s not just bitterly cold, it’s “dangerous and deadly.”
Single-digit temperatures and winds up to 35 mph will produce wind chills as low as 30-below, the National Weather Service warned this afternoon.
“Exposure to the elements in these cold temperatures and cold wind-chill temperatures can lead to frostbite and even death in a relatively short period,” the National Weather Service office in Boulder said in a special bulletin issued Wednesday afternoon.
A severe wind-chill warning is in effect for northeast Colorado until 11 a.m. Thursday.
The National Weather Service predicts an overnight low temperature of 0, followed by sunny skies and a high of 10 degrees on Thursday.
The low Thursday night is predicted to be minus-4 degrees, before a warmup into mid-20s on Friday. Saturday could bring temperatures in the 40s and possibly 50 degrees under sunny skies Sunday for the opening weekend of the National Western Stock Show in Denver.
High temperatures are expected to be in the 40s much of next week.
The high temperature in Denver Wednesday was 25 degrees just before 7 a.m., and then temperatures plunged to 8 degrees by mid-afternoon.
The record low for Wednesday’s date is minus-21 degrees set in 1913. The average high for the date is 25 degrees, according to weather records.
The coldest Jan. 7 on record was minus-18, also set in 1913.
Traffic snarled across the metro region with fender-benders and other backups Wednesday afternoon. Chain laws were in effect for many of the mountain passes, as well.
The storm delivered blowing snow and slushy roads in the mountains. Westbound I-70 was temporarily closed a mile west of the Eisenhower Tunnel after a semitrailer jackknifed in blowing snow. The Colorado State Patrol says no injuries were reported.
Interstate 70 through Wheat Ridge was “extremely icy and dangerous,” police warned before the afternoon rush-hour commute. There were multiple accidents and semi trucks pulled off the road in the area, according to Wheat Ridge police.
Light snow that swept into the metro region Wednesday morning was expected to dissipate by evening, after less than about 2 inches of accumulation, according to the Weather Service.
During the bitter-cold snap emergency officials warned Coloradans to dress in layers, wear a warm hat, gloves and insulated shoes.
“Frostbite can occur in as little as 5 to 10 minutes,” the National Weather Service warned. “The most susceptible parts of the body are the extremities such as fingers, toes, ear lobes the tip of the nose.”
Blowing snow will remain a road hazard Thursday, as well, especially on the Eastern Plains, according to the forecast.
