10/25/2011 Larry Costanzo | Category: Industry News | 218 Views | 0 Comments |

Heavy rain, at times, fell on evening commuters, but the morning rush hour is likely to be a slalom course of snow and slush, officials are warning. Parts of metro region could see up to 9 inches by morning and another 3 to 7 inches Wednesday, according to the latest forecast on the Front Range's first snowstorm of the season. On average, Denver gets about 4 inches of snow in October, according to weather records. Almost all of Colorado west of Limon is under a winter storm warning from 9 p.m. today until 6 p.m. Wednesday. Downtown, the Occupy Denver protest continued, despite the bad weather. As the rain slowed to a drizzle before 9 p.m., about 50 protesters drank coffee and plotted strategy. They had piles of blankets and reams of plastic, as they prepared for a long, cold night. "It's not a cause without sacrifice," said a woman identifying herself as Butterfly Dunn. The low before sunrise is expected to be 28 degrees in downtown Denver. Snow plows, airports and tree surgeons are on the ready. The storm made its introduction to the high country this afternoon, as light snow began falling along the Continental Divide at about 4 p.m., according to the National Weather Service​. By 9 p.m., blizzard conditions had closed U.S. Highway 287 from Ted's Place to the Wyoming border. From midnight to morning, snow is expected to fall at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour in the high county,according to the National Weather Service. Travel though the high country will be complicated by ice, snow and slush, exacerbated by single-digit temperatures, forecasters warned. The high in Denver Wednesday is expected to top out at just 32 degrees. The average high for Oct. 26 is 61 degrees, but Wednesday's chill is nowhere near record-cold. The coldest temperature for the date was 3 degrees set in 1997. Denver Public Works said this afternoon it would deploy all 68 of its heavy plows, and crews would work through the night, as well as Wednesday until the storm passes. Many trees across the Front Range still have most of their foliage, and wet, heavy precipitation could snap branches, authorities warned. Residents can avoid snapped branches by shaking the snow off any branches they can reach as the snow accumulates, according to Denver Public Works. Denver Solid Waste Management collects a limited number of branches as part of its regular trash collection. Branches must be cut into lengths of 4 feet or less and be no larger than 4 inches in diameter. The snow won't linger after Wednesday, however. Sunny skies return Thursday, as temperatures climb back to the mid 40s in Denver, the National Weather Service predicted. Temperatures in the 50s and sunny weather is expected in the metro region on Friday through the weekend, then return to the 60s early next week.





Original article can be found at: http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_19189892?source=pkg