UPDATE: Snow closes HWY 24 from Springs to Limon

UPDATE 6:00 A.M. FRIDAY

Eastbound Highway 24 from Colorado Springs to Limon is closed due to wind and icy conditions, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Roads across Colorado Springs are slick this morning, and the Colorado Springs Police Department remains on Accident Alert Status.  

A car knocked a light pole down on northbound Powers Boulevard north of Barnes Road, blocking the left lane and center lanes. The Briargate/I-25 junction is also partially blocked by a car crash.

According to the National Weather Service, Boulder has received 10 inches of snow as of 4 a.m. Some areas of Calhan are reporting as much as 13 inches.

Colorado Springs Airport is experiencing some delays and cancellations. Check flycos.com for updates. Multiple flights in and out of Denver International Airport have been canceled this morning. Go to flydenver.com for more information.

Drivers involved in crashes or collisions that do not involve injuries, alcohol or damage to property should fill out their own accident reports within 72 hours.

Report forms can be picked up at local police stations or can be downloaded online here.

Snow pics from our readers ... send your photos to photo@gazette.com.

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8:45 P.M.

The streets of Colorado Springs were wet, but not snow-packed, just before 9 p.m. Thursday. But that doesn't mean the worst is over--the snow-pocalypse is still in the forecast, said Randy Gray, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pueblo.

"I don't think it's over yet," Gray said on Thursday.

The "eye of the storm" was hovering over Pagosa Springs, Gray said. The brunt of the snowfall and weather should hit Palmer Divide and eastern El Paso County late Thursday night. A hazardous weather watch has been issued for the Pikes Peak region through 5 p.m. Friday.

7:10 P.M.

The Colorado Springs Police Department is on Accident Alert Status. Drivers involved in crashes or collisions that do not involve injuries, alcohol or damage to property should fill out their own accident reports within 72 hours.

Report forms can be picked up at local police stations or can be downloaded online here.

Snow has at last begun to fall steadily in Monument. While I-25 is merely wet, drivers traveling off the highway will see adverse conditions, said Sgt. Rick Tudor, with the Monument Police Department. The roads in eastern El Paso County will prove dangerous, Tudor said.

"It's treacherous out there," he said.

6:30 P.M.

As temperatures drop road conditions east of Colorado Springs are worsening. Slush on Highway 24 between Petyon and Falcon is freezing in spots into ice patches, according to road conditions updates by the Colorado Department of Transportation.

The Black Forest Fire Department has all hands on deck Thursday night to help with an increasing number of car crashes and collisions in the area. All volunteer members have been asked to come and help out.

Look at a CDOT map of road conditions across Colorado

According to The Denver Post, up to 22 inches of snow could fall in Denver and more than 2 feet on the Eastern Plains.

3:45 P.M.

The long-anticipated flakes began to fall heavily in Colorado Springs on Thursday afternoon. There was not so much as a dusting on the ground, but the snowfall was steady.

The Teller County Sheriff's Office, in Divide, was seeing much of the same, said Robin Linberg. "We've got what looks like powdered sugar out in our parking lot," she said.

Fountain Police were gearing up for the storm as well, watching the flakes fall. But the weather in Monument remained oddly mild--just a few flurries had made it up the hill. Monument police were shocked to hear that snow was dumping in Colorado Springs.

The winter storm hit Cripple Creek at noon, and snow had been falling all afternoon. By 3:30 p.m. snow plows were already working to clear the roads, Cripple Creek police said.

Early Thursday

A powerful winter storm is expected to hit the Front Range on Thursday afternoon with as much as 24 inches of snow predicted for parts of the Palmer Divide, according to the National Weather Service. The service calls the storm the “heaviest snow of the season.”

Snowfall will be much lighter in southern El Paso County with 6 to 10 inches predicted to fall in Colorado Springs, said Eric Petersen, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Pueblo.

“The worst conditions are going to be northern El Paso County up toward Castle Rock and out east toward Limon,” he said. “That’s where the combination of heavy snow and high winds are going to hit.”

The snow and wind could create whiteout conditions, making driving in those areas dangerous or even impossible, according to the weather service. The heaviest winds are predicted to be east of Denver  and along the Palmer Divide where winds will increase to 20 to 25 mph.

Snowfall along the Palmer Divide should range from 12 to 24 inches and the northeast plains are predicted to get 8 to 16 inches, according to the weather service.

The massive, slow-moving storm should move into Colorado Springs Thursday afternoon and then head north. Petersen said the snow could stick around until nightfall Friday.

The weather service has issued a blizzard warning from 5 p.m. Thursday to 11 p.m. Friday for north El Paso County. That warning extends north into Wyoming and east to Nebraska and Kansas. Southern El Paso County is under a winter weather advisory  from 5 p.m. Thursday to 8 a.m. Friday.

The snow is expected to move in slowly, with the precipitation possibly starting as rain. Warm conditions mean the snow might take a while to start sticking.

The worst of the conditions, Petersen said, should be late tonight.

“It’s going to be one of the more significant storms this winter,” he said.

At the Colorado Springs Airport, some crews were told to stay home Thursday morning in anticipation that they would be working late into the night, said John McGinley, assistant director of operations and maintenance.

"We want them rested up and ready so they can work this evening and through the night into the morning," McGinley said. He said crews will probably start plowing about 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday evening and are expecting half an inch an hour on the runways.

While passengers can check the airport's website for arrivals and departures, McGinley said passengers should call their airlines for the most up-to-date information about possible delays or cancellations.

Colorado Springs officials are encouraging people to prepare for the storm and make sure they have a safe place to stay.

“The best advice we can give at this point is to avoid prolonged exposure to the cold,” said Bret Waters, emergency management director in a released statement.  “Additionally, it is never too late to prepare emergency kits for both home and car.”

If temperatures drop below 32 degrees, which they are predicted to do, the Salvation Army Warming Shelter, 709 S. Sierra Madre St., will open its doors for those without a place to stay. The shelter will take in people until 10 p.m. when doors will shut for an hour for a head count. Doors will re-open at 11 p.m. for entry. For more information call 578-9190.

By Saturday afternoon, the storm should be in Kansas.

Traffic speeds can be tracked at the Gazette's traffic page and road conditions are available from the Colorado Department of Transportation.

At the same time, parts of the Midwest are preparing for a major storm. Read more here.