Winter Storm Spreads To Colorado

A​ major winter storm is hammering parts of Colorado, including Denver, after dumping multiple feet of snow in parts of northern New Mexico, snarling travel, knocking out power, even damaging some trees.

T​his system was named Winter Storm Anya by The Weather Channel due to the severity of its impacts in this region.

L​atest Status, Reports

Snow continues to fall in parts of eastern Colorado, southeast Wyoming, and parts of neighboring states, as the latest radar snapshot shows below.

T​he heaviest totals so far are 40.7 inches near Fort Garland, Colorado, and 36 inches in Rociada, New Mexico.

L​as Vegas, New Mexico, had picked up 24 inches by Thursday afternoon, passing their annual snowfall average of 22 inches. The Santa Fe, New Mexico, area saw up to 15 inches of snow.

D​enver’s first round of snow from this storm produced 9 inches. The ongoing second round will just pile on to that storm total.

Various winter storm alerts have been issued for parts of Colorado and New Mexico by the National Weather Service.

D​enver is under a winter storm warning through Saturday morning for snowfall that could be heavy at times.

S​now Forecast Totals, Impacts

The heaviest additional snow totals will be in eastern Colorado, southeast Wyoming and extreme western Nebraska, where some areas might see another foot or more through early Saturday.

M​uch of the Denver metro area could see 8 to 12 additional inches, which will likely snarl travel in the region. The National Weather Service says travel will be impossible east and southeast of Denver through Saturday morning, including along the Interstate 70 corridor.

I​n New Mexico, the heaviest snow has already fallen.

T​his winter storm will be mostly over in all areas by late Saturday morning as it travels eastward and produces rain in the central states.

T​otals Might Approach Records

I​n a few locations, the amount of snow that falls might approach three-day records for New Mexico, according to data provided by the National Weather Service.

-L​as Vegas: Current record snowstorm is 27 inches set in 1958. Records date to 1940.

-R​aton: Current record snowstorm is 26.5 inches set in 1990. Records date to 1953.

Chris Dolce has been a senior meteorologist with weather.com for over 10 years after beginning his career with The Weather Channel in the early 2000s.