After dumping an average of 6 to 12 inches of snow around the Denver metro area, a winter storm that barreled through the Front Range was expected to calm down overnight Sunday, officials said.
As of 4 p.m. Sunday, Denver International Airport received about 1.5 inches of snow Sunday, totaling 7.5 inches from Friday through Sunday afternoon.
DIA officials expected an additional 2 to 4 inches to fall through 4 a.m. Monday, according to an airport news release.
Bernie Meier, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boulder, said Denverites should expect light snow to taper off overnight Sunday.
“The biggest thing to watch for now is the roads,” Meier said. “Where they have thawed now, they will refreeze tonight. They’re going to be slippery tomorrow.”
Sunday night lows will hover just above zero, Meier said.
Monday should see highs in the 20s for the Denver area, Meier said, but no snow is expected.
“The heavy snow will shift to the southwest part of the state,” he said.
Areas with significant snow totals like 18 inches in Westminster and 12.7 inches in Boulder could expect to add a few more inches of light snow throughout Sunday evening.
Denver’s heavy snowplows were scheduled to remain on duty overnight on the main streets in preparation for the Monday morning commute, according to a news release by Denver Public Works.
The city allowed residential snowplow drivers made up of Denver Public Works and Denver Parks and Recreation employees to go home for the evening.
The slick roads caused at least two fatal crashes in the state Saturday, one in Greeley and one in Longmont.
Colorado State Patrol Trooper Josh Lewis said fender benders were plentiful Sunday morning and were expected to remain an issue into Monday morning’s rush hour.
“We are seeing plenty of slide-offs, plenty of low-level property damage crashes,” said Lewis.
Both the Colorado Senate and House canceled Monday’s sessions due to inclement weather and icy roads.
As of 4 p.m. Sunday, 170 flights were canceled at DIA — about 11 percent of scheduled flights, airport officials said.
Prior to the storm, the airport saw 29.9 inches of snow.
Officials expect this storm to help surpass the 38.4-inch snow total from the 2013-14 year.
“Snow-removal crews have been working since Friday night and continue to clean runways and other surfaces as needed,” according to a DIA news release. “The snow has been fairly light most of the day and has not had a significant impact on flight operations overall.”
The Federal Aviation Administration is not showing significant delays in Denver, the release said.
Even as the heavy snow departs, Colorado will find itself in the icy grip of arctic weather for the next few days.
Temperatures are not expected to rise above freezing until Tuesday.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671, tmcghee@denverpost.com or twitter.com/dpmcghee
