Snow falls in northern Colorado: Weather Impact Alert

The 9NEWS Weather Impact Team issued a Weather Impact Alert for Friday as a storm system will bring up to 14 inches of snow to Colorado's mountains and the first snow in the Denver metro area in 40 days.

Snow will develop in the Denver area by sunrise on Friday morning.

Expect the heaviest snow to fall between 7 and 11 a.m. across the metro area, with snow continuing all day. However, the majority of the metro area accumulations will be before midday.

Sharp north winds will combine with a briefly intense push of snow to bring potentially some hazardous driving. Roads will stay mainly wet for lower elevations because of the warm ground and surface temperatures.

Still, the snow could fall heavily enough during the morning commute in Denver that it overcomes the warm ground and leads to slick spots. Plus, the wind and snow combination will make visibility limited. Give yourself extra time for the Friday morning drive, especially from the DTC on south and along and west of Highway 93.

In the mountains, Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories are posted through Friday night. Around 6-14 inches of snow accumulation will be possible in the mountains.

In the mountains, heavy snow starts up tonight and continues all day on Friday. That'll make travel tough most of the day at all the key passes and even below, with Winter Storm Warnings covering most of the higher terrain. Winter Weather Advisories extend down to 6,000 feet in elevation for the Palmer Divide and the foothills just west of Denver.