Winter storm warning, snow in the mountains, rain in Denver

More than a foot of heavy snow is expected to fall on Telluride and other towns around Colorado’s San Juan Mountains this weekend, making travel dangerous, the National Weather Service said.

The agency issued a winter storm warning early Friday morning for the northwest and southwest San Juan Mountains, including the cities of Telluride, Ouray, Lake City, Silverton, Rico and Hesperus.

“Roads, and especially bridges and overpasses, are likely to become slippery and dangerous,” the warning reads, noting that conditions could persist until Sunday afternoon. “Traveling can be very difficult or impossible.”

At these higher altitudes, wind gusts of up to 70 km/h can occur, and certain mountain peaks can receive up to a meter of snow.

While warm weather has slowed snowfall across the state, a hazardous weather outlook for northeast and north-central Colorado indicated between 1 and 3 inches of snow could fall in areas above 30,000 feet through Friday evening.

The Denver metro area and the Plains will also likely see rain on Friday, with NWS forecasters indicating rain in Denver will likely start after 5 p.m. and continue Saturday. There is a chance of thunder on Friday night.

Temperatures in Denver are unlikely to rise above 60 degrees on Friday, with an overnight low of 38 degrees and wind speeds of 7 to 15 mph with gusts up to 18 mph.