Stormy weather moves east

Bands of heavy snow that fell late Saturday blanketed parts of the Front Range and eastern plains in a very short span of time. Up to a foot fell in the foothills and suburbs west of Denver with amounts ranging from 4 to 8 inches across the rest of the metro area and in northern Colorado.

The mountains in southwestern Colorado were expected to get up to 2 feet of snow and more than a foot was expected in the central mountains.

By early afternoon, snow had stopped falling in Denver and across much of western Colorado. The National Weather Service canceled several storm warnings and advisories.

"Our storm is slowly winding down," said Robert Koopmeiners, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boulder.

But the warnings stayed in place for Colorado's eastern plains, where forecasters said 4 to 8 inches of snow could pile up in northeastern and east-central Colorado and up to 8 inches in the southeast part of the state by evening. Forecasters warned that strong winds could reduce visibility.

Koopmeiners said the storm that originated in the Pacific Northwest didn't have much energy. "But it was enough to make us some snow," he said.

And Koopmeiners said the storm likely would pick up momentum as it moved east.

A rash of accidents prompted the Colorado State Patrol to close Interstate 70 in both directions between Floyd Hill and Morrison for a few hours after the snow started Saturday night. The highway was reopened early Sunday.

State Trooper Ryan Sullivan told The Denver Post that officers also kept busy in the metro area with accidents. Most of the problems were fender-benders and vehicles sliding off roads.

The Colorado Department of Transportation had 72 snowplows on the roads in the Denver area about 30 on I-70 west of Denver to Vail, spokeswoman Mindy Crane said. Hundreds of plows were dispatched statewide.

Denver International Airport reported 4.5 inches of snow Sunday morning. Airport officials said about 200 pieces of snow-removal equipment were working to keep the snow cleared.

Airport officials said some flights had been canceled.

Frontier Airlines said there might be some delays Sunday, but it didn't expect any major disruptions in service.