Snow caused several accidents in Colorado and Denver today, but snowall is expected to clear out early Sunday.
The Denver metro area was expected to get anywhere from 1 to 3 inches of snow by sunrise, said Chad Gimmestad, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Boulder.
The foothills and the mountains will get anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of snow.
The snow will stop well before kickoff in the playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos. The temperature will be right around freezing, he said.
“The sun should be out by game time,” Gimmestad said.
Saturday was anything but sunny for drivers. Road closures because of accidents or icy conditions and travellers reported that Interstate 70 was especially slick
Five people were rushed to the hospital around noon after a car rolled near C-470 and Interstate 70, authorities say.
The names of the victims and the extent of their injuries were not known, said Sgt. Ryan Custer, Golden police spokesman.
Several ambulances were called to the scene of the accident following the rollover about 11:57 a.m., Custer said.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.
Shortly after the first, one-car accident another vehicle crashed in the same area, but no one was hurt, Custer said.
Two people were rescued after their car slid off a cliff on U.S. 285 near the Fort Restaurant about 5 p.m.
West Metro crews had trouble reaching the car due to the slick and dark conditions. Eventually two injured people were lifted by rope after the car was stabilized.
The Colorado Department of Transportation said maintenance crews were on full snow shift starting at 5 p.m. in the Denver metro area, which means they will work 12-hour shifts through the snow storm.
There are 72 plows working in the metro area applying both liquid and solid de-icers as needed.
Denver Public Works said its snow plow crews would handle any accumulation. Large plows will stay on the main streets (streets with stripes) and will apply de-icing materials as needed.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or twitter.com/kmitchellDP or blogs.denverpost.com/coldcases
