DENVER (KDVR) — On Thursday, Gov. Jared Polis verbally declared a disaster emergency due to an incoming winter storm that is expected to drop feet of snow across the Eastern Plains and upwards of a foot of snow in metro Denver.
In the order, Polis also authorized unarmed Colorado National Guard members to provide winter storm response support. The declaration activates Colorado’s State Emergency Operations Center and State Emergency Operations Plan, in addition to instructing the Office of Emergency Management to take “all necessary and appropriate state action to assist the affected jurisdictions.”
Denver Weather: Winter Storm Warning Friday through Saturday morning
The order also allows OEMs to mobilize government resources and to make contracts and awards using emergency procurement procedures.
“The storm is expected to develop throughout the day, and this declaration is necessary to have resources in place to support rescue efforts around the state as the storm worsens into the evening,” Police wrote in their disaster declaration.
Because of the incoming storm, both Friday and Saturday are Pinpoint Weather Alert Days. According to FOX31 Pinpoint Weather Meteorologist Alden German, the storm track moved more northwest than first expected, leading to higher snow totals Friday and Saturday.
The heaviest wave of snowfall is expected Friday morning, with over an inch of snow falling every hour. Palmer Divide could see snow fall at rates of up to 2 inches per hour overnight Friday into Saturday. The National Weather Service Boulder posted at 4 p.m. Thursday, noting another 36 hours remained for snowfall in parts of Colorado as the storm progressed.
However, the biggest impacts for the Denver metro area are expected by mid-afternoon on Friday, according to NWS Boulder. The evening commute will be severely affected by the winter storm.
The Colorado Department of Transportation told motorists to avoid traveling east of Interstate 35 and south of Interstate 76 to the New Mexico and Kansas state lines into Saturday.
“The storm may look like it’s leaving later this afternoon, but the next round is expected to be worse than what we’ve already seen,” John Lorme, CDOT’s director of maintenance and operations, said in a news release Thursday. “Drivers should be prepared for extended closures and should avoid driving in the most impacted areas of the state throughout the storm.”
New Mexico’s governor also declared a state of emergency Thursday after the storm left tens of thousands of residents without power as it moved through the northern two-thirds of the state and north into Colorado.
These Colorado roads will be most affected by the November blizzard
Currently, Denver International Airport is expected to receive 8-12 inches of snow during the storm on Friday through Saturday. Meteorologist Alden German said this storm could become the largest one-day November storm in the city of Denver since 1994 if it drops more than 9 inches of snow.
On Thursday, Interstate 70 was closed across Colorado’s eastern plains as residents of that state braced for what some said could be the biggest snowstorm to hit the Denver area in November in years. Some people reported Thursday that they already had more than 14 inches (35.56 centimeters) of snow on the ground.
In addition, state government offices in the Front Range will be moved to remote work where possible on Friday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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