A weekend snowstorm dumped nearly 30 inches of the white stuff in Denver, and while forecasters said not expect any more snowfall on Monday, it's still going to be pretty chilly out and road conditions may be challenging.
Evan Direnzo, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boulder, said Monday that people in Denver can expect high temperatures in the mid-30s. Conditions will be partly cloudy.
Direnzo said the the storm dumped 27.1 inches of snow at the DIA weather station, enough to qualify as the fourth largest since records started being kept in the 1880s. He said snowfall stopped around midnight on Sunday after starting Saturday night.
The city has deployed both its large and residential street plows. A release from the city on Sunday said residential plows will take a single pass down each side street every 12-hour shift. Those smaller plows don't bring streets to bare pavement and they don't carry deicing material.
The Colorado Department of Transportation and Colorado State Patrol said in a release Sunday night that hazardous road conditions would likely continue into Monday morning. State crews were focused on clearing primary routes, like interstates and highways.
"Even as the storm subsides, travel across the state will be extremely challenging on Monday morning," Colorado State Patrol Chief Matthew Packard said in the release. "If you are driving to Denver from the high country, plan your trip for late morning or afternoon."
Packard said people unable to work from home should plan extra time for their morning commute, adding being slow and cautious will help ease things for everyone. The snowstorm caused several road closures this weekend. CDOT has a full list available on their website. Multiple major highways were closed on Monday, including parts of I-76 in northeast Colorado and portions of I-25 in both directions. Both of those closures were in the northern part of the state and south of the metro area.
Direnzo said because it's March, there will be slightly more sunlight. That, coupled with work from snow plows, should mean roads will be wet instead of slick by the end of the day. This could help improve travel.
The snowfall prompted Denver Public Schools to cancel classes on Monday. The city has also closed its COVID-19 testing sites for the day, and most city offices will also be closed. Trash, recycling and compost won't be collected on Monday.
Denver International Airport closed its runaways on Sunday. A tweet from the airport's account said runways will remain close until 2 p.m. on Monday. The airport suggests checking your flight status if you plan on flying from or out of DIA on Monday.
RTD has suspended bus and rail services until further notice. It's only currently operating its A Line from Union Station in Denver to DIA.
