Colorado weather blog: I-70 closed just past Denver to Kansas border

DENVER — It was a warmer fall, but now, winter weather is hitting the state with a vengeance. After getting a light snow already this week, we're in for two more rounds of it Thursday and Friday. It will continue to impact the Denver metro area through Saturday morning. Moderate to heavy snow continues to fall across the Eastern Plains and southeast of Denver Thursday.

The areas that will see the highest impact will be the Palmer Divide through the Limon area, including Interstate 70 east of Denver, according to the National Weather Service Boulder. Road conditions are hazardous and many roads are closed due to the weather, the NWS Boulder said.

The Denver7 news team is tracking the latest storm updates, closures, and sharing news from local agencies. Refresh this page for updates and keep checking back for new details.

LINKS: Closings and Delays | Latest forecast | Radars | Traffic | Weather Page | 24/7 Weather Stream

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Thursday, November 7

8:42 p.m. | Disaster declaration | Governor Jared Polis on Thursday verbally issued a disaster declaration due to the severe winter weather and authorized unarmed Colorado National Guard members to provide support.

The declaration activates the Colorado State Emergency Operations Center and the state's emergency operations plan.

The governor's office also announced that state employees will work remotely Friday where possible.

6:47 p.m. | Emergency livestock care alert | The Colorado Department of Agriculture is warning farmers and ranchers of dangerous travel and livestock care conditions.

Wind chills and prolonged cold temperatures increase the need for food, shelter and water. CDA urged farmers and ranchers to have extra hay and grains, as well as water, available in areas that are accessible to livestock through Saturday.

5 p.m. | Denver extending hours at shelters | Denver is extending its current cold weather shelter activation through Saturday morning as the forecast calls for an additional seven to 10 inches of snow in the metro starting Friday afternoon.

The Department of Housing Stability is providing extra 24/7 shelter through 11 a.m. Saturday at the Stone Creek shelter (former Best Western hotel), 4595 Quebec St., and at city facilities located at 2601 W. 7th Ave., and 375 S. Zuni St.

People in need of shelter are encouraged to go to the city's "front door" shelter access points. A list of those points can be found here.

4:44 p.m. | Denver Veterans Day Parade canceled | The Colorado Veterans Project and the City of Denver have canceled the 11th annual Denver Veterans Day Parade, which was scheduled for Saturday. The 16th annual Denver Veterans Day Run and Festival will continue as planned on Saturday, according to organizers.

4:44 p.m. | School closures | Kids across the Denver metro are getting a three-day weekend thanks to a slow-moving snowstorm that’s expected to dump between seven to 10 inches of additional snow in the area by Saturday morning.

Cherry Creek Schools was the first to announce all classes, school activities, and before and after-school daycare programs will be closed tomorrow. Aurora Public Schools soon followed.

By around 2:30 p.m., Denver Public Schools announced they were calling a snow day for Friday due to winter weather.

At around the same time, the Douglas County School District announced all classes would be canceled Friday as the upcoming snowstorm “is expected to be even worse than what we’ve seen over the past couple of days.” A full list of closures can be found here.

4:00 p.m. | Growing concerns in Lincoln County | Weather forecasters said Lincoln County is at the "epicenter" of the winter blast as the "historic" storm has stranded motorists in what could be up to 3 feet of snow by the time the system clears out Saturday. At least 10 people have been assisted as of Thursday afternoon and Lincoln County Sheriff Tom Nestor told Denver7 it was unclear how many other people were in need of help. “That’s what we’re afraid of, we don’t know," he said.

Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, Denver7

“We're finding people on county roads that have no business being that far off the highway. So we don't know who we're missing, because some of these drifts on these county roads are 7, 8 to 10-foot deep,” said Nestor. “I’ve not seen a storm like this in many, many years,” he said. “I’m going on 36 years at the sheriff’s office and we’re having a lot of trouble getting around. We just can’t get people out.”

He said the message is to stay home and off the roads in Lincoln County. Continue reading this story at this link.

2:22 p.m. | School closures | Denver Public Schools joined Aurora and Cherry Creek Schools by announcing all classes are canceled tomorrow "due to anticipated winter weather."

1:35 p.m. | School closures | At least 2 school districts in the Denver metro have announced snow days for Friday, Nov. 8:

• Cherry Creek Schools
• Aurora Public Schools

Both said all classes, school activities, and before and after school daycare programs will be closed tomorrow.

12:55 p.m. | I-70 shut down | Both directions of I-70 are closed from E-470 all the way to the Kansas border due to deteriorating weather conditions. The Colorado State Patrol told Denver7 that troopers were responding to at least 4 calls to assist stranded motorists between Watkins and Limon along I-70.

Denver7 is also tracking multiple other road closures on the eastern plains:

• US 24 is closed in both directions between Calhan and one mile east of Ramah
• US 50 eastbound is closed between 8 miles of La Junta
• Colorado Highway 71 is closed in both directions around Limon
• Colorado Highway 59 is closed in both directions between Kit Carson and Yuma
• US 40 is closed in both directions between 12 miles west of Hugo and Kit Carson
• US 350 is closed in both directions between El Moro and La Junta
• I-70 is closed in both directions between 3 miles west of Watkins and Burlington
• Colorado Highway 86 is closed in both directions around Kiowa
• Colorado Highway 109 is closed in both directions around La Junta
  

CDOT

11:59 a.m. | Travel delays | There are 455 delays in and out of Denver International Airport, according to FlightAware. There are 8 cancellations.

United Airlines has the most delays.

10:04 a.m. | Stranded drivers | The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said some drivers got stranded in snow drifts after traveling around road closure gates.

8:14 a.m. | Road closures | Eastbound Interstate 70 from Airpark to Limon closed.

Nearly a dozen others did as well.

7:20 a.m. | Dry conditions | Greeley was exempt from the early-morning snow Thursday, Denver7 Traffic Expert Jayson Luber observed on Colorado Department of Transportation cameras.

5:30 a.m. | Lisa Hidalgo's forecast update | We are alert free in Denver Thursday morning before around 1 to 3 inches of snow expected between now and early afternoon.

A Winter Storm Watch goes into effect Thursday night for the Denver metro area and continues through early Saturday for that 5 to 10 inches of snow.

Denver7 Weather

We'll see a lull in the snow later Thursday, but it will redevelop again early Friday and continue through early Saturday. Friday's round of snow will be quite a bit heavier and will likely bring a better chance of snow to northern Colorado and the northeastern plains.

Lisa Hidalgo has the full forecast here.

5:23 a.m. | School closures | Douglas County students will have a snow day on Thursday!

The Douglas County School District canceled classes Thursday due to snow in the forecast and “worse than anticipated” road conditions.

Denver7 Weather

Snow day for DougCo! Douglas County Schools cancel Thursday classes due to snow

Robert Garrison

The district said snow is expected to continue Thursday and that, out of an “abundance of caution,” officials decided to give students and teachers a day off.

All district buildings will be closed.

All of these schools are also closed Thursday:

• American Academy | Closed Today
• Ave Maria Catholic School | Closed Today
• Belleview Christian School | Closed Today
• Bennett School District 29J | Closed Today
• Byers School Dist. 32-J | Closed Today
• Castle Rock Senior Center | Closed Today
• Cherry Hills Christian Schools | Closed Today
• Deer Trail School District 26J | Closed Today
• Elbert School District 200 | Closed Today
• Help & Hope Center | Closed Today
• Limon School District RE-4J | Closed Today
• Lutheran High School Parker | Closed Today
• Mile High Academy | Closed Today
• Mullen High School | Closed Today
• Southeast Christian School | Closed Today
• Stacey James Institute | Closed Today
• St Andrew UMC | Closed Today
• St Luke's Little School | Closed Today
• Trinity Lutheran Sch-Franktown | Closed Today
• Valor Christian High School | Closed Today
• Yuma School Dist. 1 | Closed Today

Check latest Colorado weather closures and delays at this link.

4:34 a.m. | Road conditions | Travel to and from southern Colorado will be more than a challenge over the next two or three days, Denver7 Traffic Expert Jason Luber said. A handful of roads to the eastern plains closed due to the snow.

4:31 a.m. | Winter Weather Advisory | Southeastern Colorado is under a Winter Weather Advisory as heavy snow falls in the area Thursday morning. It will start to move north into Denver Thursday afternoon.

4:30 a.m. | LIVE NEWS | Denver7 has crews tracking Thursday's and Friday's storms, road conditions and cold weather resources across the Denver metro area. Watch Denver7's live news stream at this link or the player below:

Click here to watch the Denver7 live weather stream.