A snowy winter storm blanketed the metro Denver area Friday morning, shutting down several school districts, tying up rush-hour traffic and impacting highway travel in the mountains as I-70 and U.S. Highway 6 were closed at times.

While the snowstorm was the biggest since November, the official total at Denver International Airport, where Denver’s snow totals are measured, was only .6 of an inch.

But the rest of the metro Denver area saw significant amounts of snow Thursday night and Friday morning, with southeast Denver getting six inches between 3 a.m. Thursday and 3 a.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

Southern areas like Sheridan and Littleton saw more than eight inches of powder in the same time period, but eastern areas like DIA only saw half an inch of snow.

The foothills received the most snow, with reports of 17 inches in Conifer, 16 inches in Tiny Town, 13.5 inches in Aspen Park and a foot of snow reported in Evergreen, according to the National Weather Service.

In stark contrast, north of Denver — including areas like Brighton, Erie and Longmont — saw only a trace-to-2 inches of snowfall.

This disparity in snowfall amounts, spanning just 30 miles, is due to what meteorologists call a classic upslope storm. Northeasterly winds meet the Rocky Mountains and foothills and are forced to rise rapidly. They then condense into moisture and create heavy snowfall — on the southwest side.

“We had a huge and exceptionally large gradient, a difference in snowfall amounts between one side of town versus the other,” said 9NEWS Weather Impact Team meteorologist Chris Bianchi.

9NEWS is The Denver Gazette’s news partner.

The powerful storm shut down I-70 in both directions between Silverthorne and the Eisenhower Tunnel late Thursday night. The Colorado Department of Transportation reported at 7:16 a.m. Friday that both the Eisenhower and Johnson tunnels were closed between Loveland Ski Area and the west side of the tunnels. The highway re-opened later Friday morning. U.S. Highway 6 over Loveland Pass was closed much of Friday as well.

CDOT is warning motorists traveling to the mountains this weekend to “expect heavy, stop-and-go traffic and delays,” according to a social media post on X. There most assuredly will be many skiers and snowboarders looking to take advantage of all the fresh powder ski resorts have gotten in the past week. 

Weekend forecast

Starting Saturday, warmer temperatures and no precipitation are forecast for the next several days. Highs will jump into the 60s for most of next week.

Here’s the 4-day forecast from the National Weather Service.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 53. South southwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming light and variable in the afternoon.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 60. South southwest wind around 7 mph, with gusts as high as 16 mph.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 65.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 67.

Snow totals

• Conifer – 17.1 inches
• Tiny Town – 16 inches
• Aspen Park – 13.5 inches
• Evergreen – 12 inches
• Brookvale – 11.8 inches
• Genesee – 11.5 inches
• Shaffers Crossing – 10 inches
• Kittredge – 9.7 inches
• Littleton – 9.5 inches
• Chatfield Reservoir – 8.3 inches
• Sheridan – 8 inches
• Ken Caryl – 7 inches
• Lawson – 6.3 inches
• Southeast Denver – 6 inches
• Cherry Hills Village – 5.8 inches
• Parker – 5.2 inches
• Arapahoe Park – 5 inches
• Air Force Academy – 5 inches
• Aurora – 5 inches
• Wheat Ridge – 4.9 inches
• Breckenridge – 4.2 inches
• Englewood – 4 inches
• Crescent Village – 4 inches
• Peterson Space Force Base – 3.6 inches
• Northeast Colorado Springs – 3.5 inches
• Nederland – 2.5 inches
• Leadville – 2.2 inches
• Louisville – 2 inches
• Monument – 1.3 inches
• Hugo – 1.2 inches
• Denver International Airport – 0.6 inches
• Niwot – 0.6 inches
• Longmont – 0.4 inches
• Brighton – 0.1 inches

Denver Gazette staffers Jonathan Ingram, Marco Cummings and Sage Kelley contributed to this report, as did 9NEWS.