A winter storm that pummeled broad swaths of Colorado’s Front Range will linger Sunday with more snowfall and frigid temperatures.
Weather forecasters are predicting an additional 3 to 7 inches Sunday for metro Denver before the storm front dissipates Monday. Snowfall totals could reach 20 inches in the foothills west and southwest of Denver.
But even as heavy snows depart, Colorado will find itself in the icy grip of arctic weather for the next few days. Denver’s low temperature will fall to 5 degrees Sunday night and won’t rise above the freezing mark until Tuesday.
Road conditions became hazardous Saturday afternoon and are expected to remain a problem throughout Sunday and into Monday morning’s rush hour.
Several metro municipalities declared accident alerts Saturday evening amid reports of scores of multicar collisions. A pileup with as many as 30 vehicles was reported on Colorado 93 in Arvada.
Denver Public Works is taking the unusual step of deploying light-duty snowplows to clear residential streets. The city typically does not plow side streets unless 12 inches or more of snow is expected to fall, accompanied by prolonged freezing temperatures.
In addition to the 96 light-duty plows, Denver’s complete fleet of 70 large snowplows were dispatched starting Saturday afternoon to clear and de-ice main roadways.
Denver International Airport reported that airlines had canceled 180 flights as of Saturday night. That represented about 12 percent of scheduled flights. Many of the canceled flights were regional routes to Colorado mountain towns, although some national flights also were affected.
DIA officials said the Federal Aviation Administration may decide to implement aircraft traffic management programs for Denver, which would hold Denver-bound aircraft at their departure airports.
Airport spokesman Heath Montgomery said airlines were de-icing all departing planes, which could contribute to flight delays. He said that as of Saturday evening, DIA crews were keeping pace with snow removal.
The Colorado Department of Transportation warned motorists to expect bad travel conditions and potentially long delays along the Interstate 70 corridor through the mountains. CDOT said a chief priority is to prevent stop-and-go traffic on the inclines leading up to the Eisenhower Tunnel. That could involve ramp metering, snowplow escorts and stopping traffic in safe locations along the highway. The highway department said that depending on road conditions and traffic volume, delays of two to three hours could occur on Interstate 70.
The National Weather Service’s winter storm warning is in place until 5 p.m. Sunday for metro Denver and until midnight Sunday in the mountains.
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948, sraabe@denverpost.com or
