Live updates: Fort Collins wakes up to foot or more of snow, with more to come

Sarah Kyle | The Coloradoan

Show Caption Hide Caption Tuesday morning forecast: Snow expected to end by 3-5 p.m. Heavy snow has fallen in Colorado, including Fort Collins, but it's expected to lighten throughout Tuesday.

Editor's note: The Coloradoan is providing this Northern Colorado snow coverage free for everyone to view as a public service. We can't keep offering this service without support from readers, like you. If you don't already, please subscribe today.

Tuesday, 4:30 p.m.: U.S. Highway 287 and Colorado Highway 14 are being reopened, Larimer County reports. The roads had been closed at Ted's Place.Tuesday, 2:10 p.m.: The Streets Department has taken the unusual step of plowing residential streets. It has a "very aggressive target of a midnight completion," according to a City of Fort Collins post on Twitter. "There are 24 trucks to complete one pass through each neighborhood street to provide an accessible path, but they will not be able to plow curb to curb."

According to the city's snow plan, residential streets are only plowed only when snow accumulation completely blocks traffic movement. "This is a rare occurrence in Fort Collins and is very costly to do," according to the city's website.

"Our City is very aware of the many plans made by our residents to celebrate Thanksgiving and are doing our best to make this safe and possible," according to a city government Twitter post.

Tuesday, 11 a.m.: According to Larimer Emergency Telephone Authority (LETA), the latest radar shows that the current storm system is expected to move out of Larimer County "in the next hour or so."

"Road crews are working to catch up in all cities and the county," LETA wrote. "Big snow in western parts of Larimer with Red Feather and Stove Prairie winning the award with 32 inches of snow."

Highway 14 is now closed from 287 to Walden. Highway 287 remains closed from Ted's Place to Wyoming.

Tuesday, 9:50 a.m.: The official observation from the weather station at Colorado State University was 14.4 inches. National Weather Service reported 14.5 inches in some areas of Fort Collins.

Check out other snow totals in Northern Colorado here.

Tuesday, 7:50 a.m.: Colorado State Climatologist Russ Schumacher tweeted about 7:20 a.m. Tuesday that he had a total of 14.9 inches in his Fort Collins backyard, 9 inches of which fell after 7 p.m. Monday. Official observations from the weather station at Colorado State University have not been announced yet.

The accident alert in Fort Collins has been extended until 9 a.m.

Tuesday, 7:30 a.m.: A new band of snow with the potential to drop between 4-6 inches before noon has entered the Larimer County area, according to Larimer Emergency Telephone Authority (LETA).

Several roads throughout Colorado are closed, and all Bustang routes scheduled for Tuesday have been canceled.

As of 7 a.m. Tuesday, road closures include:

U.S. Highway 287 from Ted's Place to Wyoming

Eastbound and westbound U.S. Highway 36 Estes Park (mm 1-mm 10)

Westbound U.S. Highway 36 from Blue Mountain Road to Estes Park

Eastbound and westbound Interstate 76 from Lochbuie to Sterling

U.S. Highway 34, Wiggins to Kersey

Colorado Highway 52, Hudson to Wiggins

Northbound and Southbound Colorado Highway 71, Limon to Brush

Eastbound and westbound, Interstate 70, Airpark Road to Burlington

Northbound U.S. Highway 385 at Burlington

Eastbound and westbound Colorado Highway 86 from Kiowa to I-70

Colorado Highway 52 from Fort Morgan (mm 88) to CO 14 east of Raymer (mm 111)

Tuesday, 6:30 a.m.: National Weather Service predicts about 4 more inches to fall in Fort Collins Tuesday, according to a map it tweeted out about 6 a.m. Tuesday.

Tuesday, 5:30 a.m.: Southwest Fort Collins woke up to a foot of snow and counting Tuesday morning. In west Fort Collins near Overland Trail, reporter Pat Ferrier reported up to 16 inches of snow Tuesday morning.

The city remains on accident alert until 6 a.m.

Larimer County Office of Emergency Management announced that Larimer County and Loveland offices are closed today. City of Fort Collins is expected to announce whether it will be open in coming minutes.

U.S. Highway 287 is closed from Ted's Place to Wyoming. U.S. Highway 36 is closed from Pinewood Springs to Estes Park due to stuck vehicles.

Monday, day-end snowfall totals at CSU: As of 7 p.m., the current depth of snowfall on the ground was 4.9 inches, all falling within the last 24 hours. That brings Fort Collins' snow totals to 9.5 inches for the month and 19.6 inches so far this season, well above the seasonal average of 11.7 inches.

Monday's average temperature was 43 degrees, which is 8 degrees above average for this date.

Monday, 8:30 p.m.: CSU has announced that its campus will be closed Tuesday. All events and activities are canceled. There are no classes scheduled this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Full list of snow-related closures in Northern Colorado here.

Monday, 7:20 p.m.: With road conditions quickly deteriorating, CDOT has announced that closures are expected overnight. Poudre Fire Authority has responded to at least 10 crashes in the Fort Collins area since 4 p.m.

The city of Fort Collins has advised motorists to treat stop lights that are obscured by snow as four-way stops. Stop and only proceed when it is safe to do so.

Road Closures are expected overnight due to heavy snow accumulations and blowing snow. Where should you go for up-to-date road closure and condition information? https://t.co/uOU0HHbUQ6 will be updated throughout the night. It is your best resource! #knowbeforeyougo pic.twitter.com/0uCm2LgM21 — CDOT (@ColoradoDOT) November 26, 2019

Monday, 5:35 p.m.: The Larimer County Sheriff's Office has created a text system for snowstorm impact updates. Text 888777 and enter SNOW19 in the text field.

Monday, 5:30 p.m.: Fort Collins is on accident alert until 6 a.m. Tuesday.

⚠️Fort Collins is on accident alert until 6 a.m. tomorrow. This means if you’re involved in a non-injury, non-alcohol/drug related crash, exchange info and report online. For more info, visit https://t.co/mhaykwp3X9



Stay safe out there! #cowx pic.twitter.com/6csrSaGcD2 — Fort Collins Police (@FCPolice) November 26, 2019

Monday, 4 p.m.: City of Fort Collins' Streets Department is pre-treating roads and snow plows are out, according to the city's snow plow tracker.

Monday, 3:50 p.m.: Some motorists at the Timnath Walmart reported being stuck in the parking lot for up to two hours. An employee was spotted handing out water, cookies and candy to motorists.

Monday, 3 p.m.: National Weather Service is now predicting between 18 and 24 inches of snow for Fort Collins.

Monday, 2:52 p.m.: City of Fort Collins has activated its Emergency Weather Shelter Plan for Monday and Tuesday nights. Here's where those seeking shelter should go while that plan is in effect:

Men: Arrive at Catholic Charities, 460 Linden Center Drive at 9 p.m. (dry shelter). Call 970-493-0141 for more information,

Women: Community of Christ Church, 220 E. Oak St. at 9 p.m. (dry shelter). Call 970-493-0141 for more information,

Men and women: Fort Collins Rescue Mission, 316 Jefferson St. (wet shelter). Arrive at 5:30 p.m. for dinner and then check-in for shelter. Call 970-224-4302 for more information.

A warming shelter is available at the Murphy Center, 242 Conifer St., until 10 p.m. both nights. Day shelter services are available 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Murphy Center and noon to 4 p.m. at Catholic Charities.

The city will provide transportation between shelter sites and warming centers.

Original story: It's here: Snow began falling in Fort Collins just before 1:30 p.m., the first signs of the massive snowstorm that's expected to blanket the city with up to 17 inches of fresh snow.

Fort Collins snow forecast: Northern Colorado to be in thick of storm starting Monday According to 9News, Northern Colorado will start seeing heavy storm Monday afternoon.

Our Coloradoan team will be working around the clock to keep you informed, and we'll update this story with timestamped updates throughout the storm.

Looking for something specific like school closures or road conditions? We'll keep stories specific to these topics updated, too:

►Forecast: How to prepare before foot of snow dumps on area before Thanksgiving

►Snow closures: Northern Colorado schools, businesses with closures or delays

►Thanksgiving travel: Colorado road conditions, snow closures during winter storm

►Flights cancelled:More than 100 DIA flights already canceled for Tuesday

►How to change your flight: Airlines waive change fees for travel through DIA ahead of snowstorm

As of Monday morning, Colorado's northern mountains as well as Fort Collins, Boulder and Greeley are expected to get 12 to 22 inches of snow starting Monday afternoon. Poudre and Thompson school districts announced earlier Monday that they would close Tuesday, giving students an extra day of Thanksgiving break.

Snow will begin to accumulate Monday night, with a foot or more expected by Tuesday morning. Heavy and blowing snow will make travel difficult throughout this storm, according to the National Weather Service.

Fort Collins is forecast to get up to 17 inches of snow through Tuesday.

Fort Collins police and others are asking for people to avoid travel Monday night. Travel Tuesday is expected to be "difficult to impossible," according to the National Weather Service.

Mmmkay it's already snowing so tomorrow will be a good day to stay home and meal prep for turkey day. Or if that's not your thing...I don't know, I guess play with the laser pointer and the cat. Either way, stay safe. 😺 — Fort Collins Police (@FCPolice) November 25, 2019

Expect blustery winds from 14 to 22 mph Monday night, with gusts reaching 33 mph. Wind will continue Tuesday as the storm slows, with gusts reaching 28 mph.

A winter storm warning will be in effect in Fort Collins, much of northeastern Colorado and along the foothills from 5 p.m. Monday through 2 p.m. Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.