Snow and wintry weather in Denver on Wednesday made for rough sledding around town, and Denver police took more than 150 crash reports while on accident alert.
Businesses and government offices closed early because of the snow and the Colorado Department of Transportation recommended people either leave work early Wednesday afternoon or wait out the intensifying snowstorm.
Commute times were doubled for some drivers and slick conditions in some areas contributed to traffic accidents and stranded vehicles, drivers and passengers.
“CDOT is strongly recommending that commuters leave early or stagger travel to mitigate impacts of volume on the roadways during the storm. The state of Colorado is closing offices two hours early,” CDOT said in a news release.
The snowy weather also slowed public transportation.
Heading into PM rush hour system-wide delays are 15-45 min for buses and 5-15 min for light rail. Bus shuttles remain in service between 40th & Airport and Denver Airport Station. Road conditions are hazardous. Please use caution when traveling & plan for extra travel time.
— RTD (@RideRTD)
At about 5 p.m., Denver police said they had taken 154 accident reports since 8 a.m. Denver and other surrounding cities were on accident alert Wednesday. In collisions with no injuries and minimal damage drivers could agree to exchange license and insurance information and move on.
Thornton, Lakewood and Aurora also were on accident alert. Drivers should report incidents within 24 hours. Accident alert exceptions are in drunken driving cases and hit-and-runs.
Snow totals Wednesday varied along the Front Range, with Denver International Airport reporting 2.2 inches at 5 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. Boulder reported just under 5 inches, at about 4:40 p.m., and Englewood had 4 inches. A weather service spotter reported 4.2 inches in east Denver just after 4 p.m.
Snow continued to fall during the evening rush hour Wednesday and the temperature in Denver, according to the weather service, was a frigid 11 degrees at about 5:45 p.m., along with “freezing fog.”
A heavy band of snow moved across the Denver metro area about noon, turning visibility on roads to near zero, and dropping 2 inches of snow every 20 to 30 minutes, the weather service said.
Snow is sticking on the roads much earlier than expected, said Kari Bowen, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Boulder.
12:00 PM Update: Heavy snow band moving across Denver. Visibility on roads near 0 in the band and roads are very slick with the heavy band. Slow down and allow extra time to get where you are going.
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder)
RELATED: Could Denver be in for a cold, snowy February?
The main storm dropped several inches of snow in the mountains. Another 5 to 12 inches of snow will fall in the mountains Wednesday, Bowen said. Icy road conditions will make travel hazardous, according to the NWS.
A winter weather advisory is in effect for the mountains.
The Denver metro area was expected to get anywhere from 2 to 5 inches of snow, with larger amounts in the foothills and along the Palmer Divide, Bowen said.
“It will stick on the roadways and make for a nasty evening commute so we really want people to plan ahead,” Bowen said.
Fog this morning over Denver and eastern plains. Some areas have visibility under 1/4 mile. Take extra time for travel and slow down.
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder)
Wednesday night, the low temperature will be around negative 1 degree and negative 14 when factoring in wind chill values, according to the NWS forecast.
Although it will be partly sunny on Thursday, it will remain very cold, with a high of only 18 degrees. Wind chill values will make the air feel like negative 13 degrees, the NWS says.
It will gradually get warmer through the weekend with temperatures rising from a high of 39 degrees on Friday to the mid-40s on Saturday.
