AURORA | After an evening of a mix of snow and rain Monday night, an overnight snowstorm has dropped multiple inches of snow across Aurora, prompting area schools and some government offices to close Tuesday, Nov. 17.
Aurora is on accident alert. State highway officials closed I-70 eastbound from E-470 to Limon at about 7:30 a.m. because of blowing and drifting snow. A reopen time was not announced.
The worst of the storm is in east and southeast Aurora, where snowplows and numerous cars got stuck on Arapahoe Road near Smoky Hill Road at about 6:15 a.m. Police there were asking for road graders and heavy equipment after tow trucks also began getting stuck in deep and blowing snow.
All Aurora Public Schools are closed Tuesday, including Pickens Technical College and all day and evening events at the schools. Cherry Creek Schools District also has cancelled classes for Tuesday.
Community College of Aurora, both CentreTech and Lowry campuses, have cancelled all classes and events until 5 p.m. After that, schedules will resume as normal.
A powerful winter storm blanketed the Rocky Mountains with several inches of snow overnight, which also forced the cancellation of more than 200 flights in Denver and set up a dicey Tuesday morning commute in some areas.
Other closures and delays across Colorado include:
- Aurora Center for Treatment: Delayed open of 5 hours
- Aurora Mental Health Center: Closed Tuesday.
- Buckley Air Force Base: All non-essential personnel report at 10 a.m.
- Regis Jesuit High School: Closed Tuesday.
Forecasters said 6 to 10 inches of snow could fall in Denver before the storm pushes east into Kansas later Tuesday. The worst conditions were expected in areas south and east of the city and on the Eastern Plains.
“After the storm lingers on through the morning rush, it will be moving out of the area,” said Todd Dankers, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Boulder. “The rush hour will be the tail end of the storm.”
But Dankers said that even when the snow tapers off, sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph, with gusts of up to 50 mph, could create bitterly cold and dangerous conditions.
“It’s possible that fresh snow will be blowing around, creating the possibility of a ground blizzard,” he said.
Denver International Airport spokesman Heath Montgomery said about 220 flights were canceled Monday in advance of the storm, which is expected to drop 12 to 16 inches by lunchtime Tuesday. The airport typically has about 1,500 flights a day.
“Delays are also going to be possible if the FAA slows traffic into Denver,” Montgomery said.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.