Snowfall began to pickup as night fell over the Front Range, with accident alerts issued for communities including Centennial, Douglas County and Colorado Springs.
The slow moving storm was predicted to drop as much as 3 feet of snow in parts of the high country settled into Colorado.
The National Weather Service in Boulder has extended a winter storm warning from Thursday through Saturday morning for Jackson, Larimer, Grand, Boulder, Gilpin, Clear Creek, Summit, Park and Douglas counties. Over that span, the weather service says high-altitude areas could see 1 to 2 feet of snow, with locally higher amounts up to 3 feet.
Areas of Pitkin, Lake, Gunnison, Eagle and Chaffee counties also are under a winter storm warning and are expected to see significant snowfall.
The weather service reported 1 inch of snow at DIA at midday and 3 inches in Boulder by 7 p.m.
Further north, adverse weather was blamed for pileups involving more than 60 vehicles on Interstate 80 east of Laramie.
Monarch Pass was closed in Colorado Thursday night because of weather-related accidents.
PHOTOS: Spring storm along Colorado’s Front Range
“Along the Front Range urban corridor there will be a mix of rain and snow with mostly rain across the plains,” the weather service said in a bulletin. “Current expectations are that areas along (the corridor) will see from 2 to 4 inches of wet snow with lots of melting on roadways.”
Temperatuers throughout the day in Denver were about 6 degrees colder than originally predicted, so depths could exceed orginal forecats — especially in areas near the foothills and south of Denver.
“The greatest threat of that would be overnight (Thursday and Friday),” according to the bulletin.
FORECAST: Denver and Colorado weather updates
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center warns that the snowfall could create dangerous conditions in the mountains and could leave slopes vulnerable to slides.
TRAFFIC: Learn about road conditions and travel times
“Backcountry travelers could encounter large avalanches on many slopes,” CAIC said. “Evaluate the snowpack frequently and carefully.”
The weather service is calling for cold temperatures and a chance of snow in Denver through Sunday night.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul
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