The Snow Is Here, So Expect ‘A Headache Of A Rush Hour’ Going Home Today

It seems like just yesterday that temperatures on the Front Range hit 70 degrees.

Oh wait, that was yesterday. And we’re paying for it now.

A winter storm has swept across the state, bringing freezing rain and more than a foot of snow to the central and northern mountains and a forecast of patchy snow along the I-25 corridor.

Roads exposed to the sun over the weekend soaked up the warmth and were initially able to melt off freezing rain Monday morning, said Kyle Fredin, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Boulder. But by the evening commute, the roads will have cooled off enough that the precipitation will freeze.

“It’s going to be a headache of a rush hour,” Fredin said.

Travel is already difficult around Denver. The Regional Transportation District reported some of its buses and trains saw delays of 10-20 minutes. Riders can check for delays on RTD’s NextRide website or in the Transit app.

The city of Denver has deployed its largest plows to main streets and expected they’ll keep running through Wednesday, Nancy Kuhn, spokeswoman for the Denver Office of Transportation and Infrastructure, said in a press release. Bike lanes are also being plowed. The city will also run smaller plows on side streets from 3 a.m. Tuesday to 3 p.m. that day.

A full fleet of snowplows are out across the state, said Tamara Rollison, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation. They were out early Monday pre-treating roads to make plowing easier over the next 24 hours. CDOT’s crews are working hard to hold up their end of the bargain, she said.

"Motorists have to do their part too, in taking it slow and avoiding traveling during the worst times of the storms if they can,” she said.

Fredin, the meteorologist, said you can expect up to a foot of snow in the foothills in Jefferson and Boulder counties, with slightly less further north toward Fort Collins. The Eastern Plains will likely see just one to four inches, and he doesn’t expect the wind to be too much of a problem there.