Heavy snow could make the morning commute difficult

Updated November 5 at 11:58 p.m.

Heavy waves of snow falling in the highlands and lower elevations could make roads slippery and dangerous.

The snowfall began Tuesday afternoon and tapered off late evening, but is expected to continue overnight. Accumulation is expected to be heaviest south of Interstate 70 and southeast of metro Denver, said Zachary Hiris, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Boulder office.

The weather service has issued a winter storm warning for heavy snow that could mean more than a foot of snow for the eastern portion of the Palmer Divide, northern Lincoln County and southern Washington County, he said.

There was a lot of uncertainty in the forecast models leading up to the storm, including whether a dry straight line would reduce snow depths in Broomfield, Longmont and other areas north of the Denver metro area, Hiris said. The weather service also wasn't sure whether light snow would fall continuously or sporadically Wednesday morning.

“Everything is set up to be quite snowy the rest of the night and there will probably be a bit more coverage across the metro, especially tomorrow,” he said.

The weather service's Pueblo office has issued a winter storm warning for the Sangre de Cristo and Wet Mountains, where more than a foot of snow could fall through Wednesday. Fremont County and northern El Paso County could see snow amounts of up to 9 to 10 inches, federal forecasts said.

The weather service's Grand Junction office issued a separate winter weather advisory covering parts of the Western Slope, warning that several inches of snow and gusty winds could make roads slick, reduce visibility and make driving difficult.

The weather service also issued a separate winter weather advisory covering much of the Western Slope, warning that several inches of snow and gusty winds could make roads slick, reduce visibility and make driving difficult overnight and during the commute Wednesday morning .