Parts of the Denver metro area could receive another 1 to 2 inches of snow Friday evening, as another band of moisture combines with cold air, the National Weather Service said.
The heaviest bands of snowfall are expected north and south of the city, with up to 2 inches in less than 30 minutes, forecasters said. Other areas could see a half-inch an hour before the snow tapers off later Friday evening.
Highway officials are urging caution from Boulder to Fort Collins and in Douglas County, areas seeing heavy snow showers as of about 7:30 p.m.
Traction laws are in effect overnight on Interstate 70 from Morrison to Idaho Springs, requiring vehicles to have four-wheel drive, proper ties or chains, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
The law also is in effect on I-70 for Loveland Pass, Vail Pass and on each side of the Eisenhower Tunnel, CDOT warned.
A cold front moving into the city on Saturday will bring a drastic chill as temperatures are only expected to top out near 16 degrees. Forecasters sa id the city will get, at most, a little over an inch of accumulation by Saturday midday.
“It’s going to be kind of ugly tomorrow,” Robert Koopmeiners, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boulder. “You won’t want to be outside naked and wet.”
The Front Range will also be battered by constant winds on Saturday, dropping wind chill values in Denver to as low as minus 6 degrees.
Chilly temperatures are expected for the rest of the year in the metro region.
Monday is expected to reach just 34, which could be the highest temperature before New Year’s Day, which is expected to reach 37 degrees. Overnight lows in the teens are expected each day next week.
Most of Christmas Day precipitation left roads slick in and around the city, at times prompting some police agencies to go on accident alert status.
Storms causing havoc in the southwest part of the state will settle into the metro area by early Friday evening, but be much less potent when hitting the Front Range.
Summit, Eagle, Pitkin and Clear Creek counties are under a winter weather advisory until 6 a.m. on Saturday and towns like Aspen, Vail, Breckenridge and Winter Park could get up to 10 inches of snow.
In southwest Colorado, the storm system on Christmas morning prompted blizzard warnings and closed Wolf Creek Pass.
Forecasters say areas of the San Juan Mountains were seeing snowfall rates of 3 to 4 inches an hour.
“It was out of hand,” Koopmeiners said.
The towns of Telluride, Crested Butte, Silverton and Ouray are under a winter storm warning until Saturday morning as up to 20 inches of snow could fall in those areas.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or @JesseAPaul
