Blizzard Conditions Expected; Travel Discouraged Noon-9PM

Bring it on!
8-15 Inches In Denver, Up To 2 Feet In Foothills

UPDATED: 11:00 am MDT March 26, 2009
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DENVER -- Call it the snow-pocalypse, the March Blizzard 2009 or the Spring Storm. Whatever you call it, it's going to be a storm to remember.

The snow has already started to come down but the worst of it is expected to hit between noon and 9 p.m., when flakes will fall at a rate of an inch per hour.

Although the metro area is expecting a foot of snow -- it's not the amount of snow that's worrisome. It's the wind.

The snow and gusty winds will create whiteout conditions that will make driving anywhere extremely treacherous or even impossible. Travel on the roads are HIGHLY DISCOURAGED between noon and 9 p.m. today. Expect hazardous driving conditions all over the state but particularly on the Eastern Plains and along Interstate 25.

A BLIZZARD WARNING is in effect for the Denver Metro and along the Front Range. The warning begins Thursday at 6 a.m. and extends to Friday at 6 a.m.

Very windy conditions will create blowing and drifting snows all over the state, with strong wind gusts for as high as 50 mph expected. In most areas, there will be sustained winds of 20 mph to 30 mph. Whiteout conditions will be common is most areas as the snow starts to fall.

Heavier amounts of snow are expected on the south and west sides of Denver, including in Ken Caryl, Highlands Ranch, Parker and Golden -- where up to 20 inches will be possible.

Storm totals in the foothills will range from 1-2 feet by Friday morning. The Palmer Divide is also looking at about 1-2 feet of snow through Friday morning. Up in the high country, snow started falling heavily on Thursday and continue through Friday with snow totals expected to range from 1-2 feet, mainly areas east of the Continental Divide.

Current Snow Totals

As of 10:30 a.m.

*
* 7 inches -- Boulder
* 6 inches -- Broomfield, Lyons, Nederland
* 6 inches -- Evergreen, Lafayette
* 5.5 inches -- Longmont
* 5 inches -- Westminster
* 4 inches -- Fort Collins
3 inches -- 7NEWS Studios

We have missed most of the storms this season, but this storm will not miss the Denver area. The low pressure center of the storm will cross central and southeastern Colorado today and tonight, and put Denver and the northeastern plains in the prime location for heavy snow.

Snow began falling in the mountains Wednesday night and spread across the foothills and Front Range urban corridor early this morning. The heavier snows started falling in Denver around the morning rush hour and will now continue through the day.

So far this winter, Denver has only recorded 18.8 inches of snowfall. The record for the least snowy winter is 20.8 inches set back in 1888-89.

This storm has a favorable track to bring heavy snowfall to the Front Range. The storm track for this system will move it through southern Colorado - a better position to bring snow to the metro area. We should have a good northeasterly wind -- an upslope -- that will increase the moisture along the Front Range.

The snow in the high country is welcome news as the recent warm weather has thinned the snowpack. The storm should push the average snowpack back above normal across the mountains.