Colorado weather: Schools, government offices close as snow falls across the state

Updated 11:59 a.m.

Coloradans are waking up to several inches of snow outside their windows as a winter storm rolls through the state. 

The amount of snow depends on where you live, but most urban areas, like Denver, Grand Junction and Pueblo, saw between one and five inches of snow overnight. That’s expected to rise, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Robert Koopmeiners. 

“The upper level feature that's causing this is round over the Four Corners right now, so it's moving pretty slow,” Koopmeiners said. “So it should snow through the day into this evening and probably around midnight or a little before midnight.”

So far, the majority of snow has fallen on mountains in southwest Colorado. Silverton, a small city in San Juan County about 50 miles north of Durango, got over 10 inches of snow as of Wednesday morning. 

Several government buildings have preemptively closed or will open late today due to the weather. State government offices are opening one hour late at 9 a.m. City and County of Denver offices are also on a delayed start this morning. 

Some school districts, including the two Pueblo school districts and Falcon School District 49 in Colorado Springs, are closing campuses Wednesday. Colorado State University Pueblo and Red Rocks Community College are also closed for the snow. 

Students at Denver Public Schools and Jefferson County Public Schools, the state’s two largest school districts, will have to report to class unless administrators make a last minute decision Wednesday morning to call a snow day. 

Passengers arriving at and departing from Denver International Airport may see some delays. There have been 419 delays in and out of DIA, while 147 flights have been canceled as of Wednesday around noon. 

Drivers are being warned to be cautious on roads this morning as the snow and low temperatures may cause hazardous, icy conditions. COTRIP shows several road closures due to crashes. Mandatory traction laws may be in effect, depending on the road.