About 90 miles of Highway 34 were closed Thursday afternoon, followed by a partial closure of Interstate 76, as a snowstorm swept through the plains of northeastern Colorado. Both have reopened.
The Colorado Department of Transportation announced that both directions of Highway 34 between Brush and the Nebraska state line are closed to motorists due to safety concerns. Colorado State Patrol (CSP) reported multiple drivers sliding off the road near the border of Yuma and Washington counties in northeastern Colorado. The section between Prefectural Road YY and Prefectural Road AAA was reopened to traffic around 4 p.m., but the rest of the expressway was closed until 4:30 p.m.
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Just after 1 p.m., eastbound Interstate 76 between Sterling and the Nebraska state line was also closed. According to CSP, multiple crashes, including those involving semis, have been reported in this section. I-76 reopened around 4 p.m.
CDOT
The National Weather Service reported that a band of heavy, wet snow is moving north along Highway 36 and will continue into the late afternoon. Snowfall rates could reach 2 to 3 inches per hour, the NWS said.
A winter storm warning is in effect for Logan and Washington counties until 11 a.m. Friday due to heavy snow, according to the NWS. Local accumulation totals are likely to be between 2 and 10 inches, according to the NWS. Travel “will be extremely difficult,” it said.
CDOT
Similar warnings have been issued for 4 to 10 inches of snow in Sedgwick and Phillips counties, and 2 to 8 inches of new snow in Yuma County. The latter warning expires at 5 a.m. Friday.
The heaviest snow will be in northern Yuma County, where up to 10 inches could accumulate, according to the NWS.
As of 10:45 a.m. Thursday, about 9.7 inches of rain had fallen about 3 miles southwest of Fleming and about 4 inches about 15 miles southeast of Sterling, according to the NWS.
Denver will also experience a snowstorm Thursday evening into Friday morning. Approximately 2 to 4 centimeters of snow is expected to accumulate.
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