Highs in the city will stay right around 40 degrees Tuesday and Wednesday then heat up to the mid to high 50s by Saturday.

Tuesday will see some patchy fog, mainly out near Denver International Airport, until about 10 a.m. Freezing drizzle is also possible in the northern Wyoming border areas of Larimer and Weld Counties, according to forecasters at the National Weather Service in Boulder; some of that could drift down into the foothills near the western suburbs, but Denver will likely stay clear of it.

Cloudy and cooler today with highs mainly in the 30s and 40s over the mountains and plains. Patch freezing drizzle over the northern foothills and adjacent plains bordering Wyoming early this morning. pic.twitter.com/kDVNmYMppf

— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) December 12, 2023

Looking at Wednesday, a round of snow is possible on the plains, following a line south from Denver to Akron. There is a 20% chance of snowfall in Denver during the day, but that chance increases to 40% into the evening mainly before 11 p.m.

Accumulation for Denver is likely to stay less than half an inch.

Denver skies after that are expected to stay clear and sunny through the weekend into next week.

Denver received right around the forecast two to three inches of snow with 2.8 inches by Saturday morning.

Slick, snow-covered roads will stick around most of the Denver metro area and western foothills as temperatures will stay chilly Saturday. Forecasters at the National Weather Service in Boulder advised drivers to be cautious west of Interstate 25 and into the mountains.

Areas with the most snow in the Denver metro area were suburbs like Ken Caryl with 9.7 inches, Golden with 7.8 inches and Lakewood with 7.3 inches.

The Boulder area also received a lot of snow, with the city getting 8.3 inches and Nederland getting 10 inches.

Crescent Village in southern Boulder County received the most snow, according to the National Weather Service, with 14 inches falling by 8:45 a.m.

The mountains are still likely to get a little more light snow Saturday, but additional accumulation is expected to be less than two inches.

The main weather component Saturday is the temperature, as Denver’s high will stay right above freezing at 36 degrees. Saturday night’s temperatures are likely to drop into the teens, with the low being 16 degrees.

Denver activated its cold weather shelter plan Friday and Saturday night, opening two former hotels to people needing shelter.

The former Best Western hotel now known as New Directions at 4595 Quebec St. and the former Doubletree Hotel at 4040 Quebec St. will be open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. both nights.

The Lawrence Street Community Center, 2222 Lawrence St., Samaritan House, 2301 Lawrence St., and Urban Peak, 2100 Stout St., will also have expanded capacities.

The 35-year-old woman turned herself in for a charge of driving while ability impaired on Nov. 6 and was transferred to an off-site work release facility Nov. 15. She had a release date of Dec. 23, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said in a Wednesday news release.

There were no indications of foul play, according to the news release.

The Lakewood Police Department is investigating, and the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office will determine the cause of death.

The arrests were the result of two law enforcement investigations conducted by the Denver District Attorney’s Office, Denver Police Department, Aurora Police Department, FBI, ATF, the Regional Anti-Violence Enforcement Network and the Violent Criminal Enterprise Task Force, according to a district attorney’s office news release.

“These arrests send an unmistakable message that law enforcement agencies throughout the Denver metro area are committed to working together to disrupt and disband dangerous criminal organizations. The streets of Denver are safer today because of these two investigations and I am grateful to the many law enforcement officers who have worked so hard on these cases to get us to this point,” McCann said.

About $780,000 of cash and property were stolen, and the members also now face charges of aggravated robbery, kidnapping, illegal possession of firearms and violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act.

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The highway was closed for more than five hours on Friday after the Colorado State Patrol reported the closure in Golden at 11:06 a.m. Traffic was diverted to Colorado 470.

No injuries were reported and the Colorado Department of Transportation responded to the bridge.

The truck that was wedged under the bridge was carrying an 80,000-pound load, the state patrol posted on X.

Interstate 70 was also entirely shut down for about four hours in Glenwood Springs due to a crash, and westbound lanes are closed in DeBeque due to an 18-car pileup.

The Colorado Department of Transportation reported the closure of the east lanes at 10:11 a.m. from exit 111, South Canyon, to exit 114, West Glenwood.

The department announced the lanes were reopened at 1:53 p.m.

Westbound lanes of the interstate are closed in De Beque due to an 18-car pileup and in Golden at Colorado 470 after a tractor-trailer with an oversized load hit a bridge.

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The three staff members — identified by the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office as Principal Brett Michel, Assistant Principal Jeff Sparrow and school counselor Shannon Paxton — had been on administrative leave for nearly a month while law enforcement and the Elizabeth School District investigated the allegations, the district said in a news release Thursday.

The school district also announced it was ending the three staff members’ employment, pending approval by the Board of Education at its Monday meeting.

“While we recognize these individuals’ many positive, past contributions to the school community, we have high expectations that our staff will follow legal expectations and board policies in keeping our students safe and investigating any and all reports of concerning behavior,” district Superintendent Dan Snowberger said in a statement.

The teacher involved in the suspected child abuse, who has not been publicly identified or charged, remains on administrative leave during the 18th Judicial District’s criminal investigation of the allegations, the district said.

The specific allegations against the teacher have not been made public.

On Sept. 26, Snowberger received calls from both Elizabeth police Chief Jeff Engel and the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office about a complaint filed with law enforcement regarding a middle school teacher stemming from concerns the previous school year, according to the district.

Snowberger placed the teacher on leave the next morning, the district said.

Elizabeth School District officials say they had not been made aware of the concerns reported to administrators at the middle school — located about 40 miles southeast of Denver — before the law enforcement investigation.

Once law enforcement officials had finished their interviews, Snowberger began a district investigation and interviewed staff, students and parents.

Based on those interviews, the district said in a statement, Snowberger “found a number of concerns involving staff adherence to district policies and law regarding the mandatory reporting requirement when receiving allegations that involved a child.”

Colorado is a mandatory reporting state, and the punishment for not reporting could be a fine of $750 and/or imprisonment of up to six months. Michel, Sparrow and Paxton each are facing one count of failure to report suspected child abuse.

Superintendents are required to notify the Colorado Department of Education when local authorities “reasonably believe” that an incident of child abuse or neglect has occurred and a district employee is suspected, according to the agency’s website.

It’s unclear whether the case at Elizabeth Middle School has been reported to the department. Jeremy Meyer, a spokesman for the education department, declined to comment on an ongoing investigation.

School districts are also required to file a report with the Department of Education if an employee is fired or has resigned because they have been accused of unlawful behavior involving a child and the allegations are “supported by a preponderance of evidence.” Districts have to make the report within 10 business days of the employee’s dismissal, according to the state agency.

Michel, Sparrow and Paxton were placed on leave Nov. 8, and, following the announcement of the charges against them, will no longer be employed by the school district pending school board approval, according to the district’s Thursday news release.

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Heavy snow bands that started along Interstate 70 and south in the mountains will pass into the Front Range through Friday. The highest snowfall will likely be south of Denver from Castle Rock to El Paso County and the southern Front Range foothills.

Denver will likely see between two and three inches of snow through Saturday morning.

The National Weather Service in Boulder said as of 6:35 a.m. Friday the snow was developing quickly and will spread across most of Douglas County.

Heads up am commuters for the Palmer Divide!

Snow is quickly developing (as of 635 am) and will continue to spread across much of Douglas County impacting I-25 south of Denver. Pavement temperatures will support road snow and slick travel from ~Castle Rock to CO Springs. #COwx pic.twitter.com/mD83qHPnY1

— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) December 8, 2023

Forecasters warned drivers that pavement temperatures will support snow on the roadways and the morning commute on Interstate 25 could be slick.

A winter weather advisory in effect Friday evening in western Jefferson and much of Douglas counties states between two and six inches of snow could fall, and forecasters said that total could rise to seven or eight inches depending on how long the snow bands stay through Saturday.

After these bands make their way into the Front Range Friday, a second round of snow is expected in the mountains about noon Friday, bringing another four to six inches to areas along Interstate 70.

Aside from the snow, temperatures will also be of concern, as lows could drop into the teens this weekend.

Friday’s high is 41 degrees, and the low is 21 degrees. Saturday will see a high of 36 degrees and a low of 16 degrees.

Denver is activating its cold weather shelter plan Friday and Saturday night, opening two former hotels to people needing shelter.

The former Best Western hotel now known as New Directions at 4595 Quebec St. and the former Doubletree Hotel at 4040 Quebec St. will be open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. both nights.

The Lawrence Street Community Center, 2222 Lawrence St., Samaritan House, 2301 Lawrence St., and Urban Peak, 2100 Stout St., will also have expanded capacities.

The crash occurred at about 9:10 p.m. on westbound I-76 between Sable Boulevard and U.S. 85 while Commerce City police and South Adams County firefighters were investigating a suspected drunken-driving crash involving one vehicle, Colorado State Patrol Master Trooper Gary Cutler said at a news conference Friday.

A fire truck was blocking two lanes of traffic for the investigation and officers were directing traffic onto the right shoulder when a 24-year-old man driving a Toyota Tacoma drove around police barricades and to the left of the truck, hitting four first responders.

One firefighter sustained serious injuries and underwent surgery on Friday, said South Adams County Fire Chief Ken Koger. One Commerce City officer sustained moderate injuries, and a South Adams County firefighter and a Commerce City officer sustained minor injuries in the crash.

The 24-year-old was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and booked into the Adams County jail early Friday morning. Additional information about charges in the case was not available on Friday.

Colorado State Patrol troopers responded to 214 DUI crashes in Adams County alone last year, Cutler said at the news conference.

“We are getting to a point where we absolutely need the public’s help,” he said. “We need people to actually start taking responsibility on this. When we can’t get our own people out there to help others that are in need of assistance when they have crashes or something else that’s going on the road, and we have to worry about being hit and injured or possibly killed… this cannot continue the way it’s been going.”

Koger choked up when talking about receiving the call that one of his firefighters was seriously injured on Thursday night.

“This has got to stop,” he said. “These guys are trained, they park their vehicles to protect them and it’s still not enough. Being a firefighter today and walking into burning buildings is not the danger of the job anymore, it’s being on the highways. This has got to stop. I don’t know what we have to do, but it has to change.”

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But with the millions of people exploring Colorado’s outdoors every year also comes a large number of accidents in the wilderness. The Colorado Search and Rescue Association estimates there are about 3,000 search and rescue incidents annually in the state and about 40,000 search and rescue volunteer hours logged.

This year’s incidents so far show even seasoned outdoorspoeple can be killed in accidents, and unprepared newcomers or people driving through the high country can also be faced with challenges or extreme conditions.

From thousands of search hours to national park closures and unique rescues, these are 10  incidents this year that required the most effort from search and rescue teams.

Two men stranded in Pike National Forest for 21 hours rescued by National Guard helicopter

Two men were stranded overnight in their car during a snowstorm in the Pike National Forest for 21 hours on May 11 before being rescued by a Colorado Army National Guard helicopter team.

A third man in the vehicle was rescued by a Douglas County deputy before snow conditions worsened and several trees toppled onto the roadway. Crews worked overnight to try and cut the fallen trees with chainsaws before the National Guard was called and flew in to rescue the men the next day.

Lost snowmobiler rescued from Vail Pass by helicopter

A lost snowmobiler on Vail Pass who later said he was not prepared for self-navigating was rescued May 14 after a search involving the Eagle and Summit counties sheriff’s offices, Colorado Search and Rescue, Colorado’s State Search and Rescue Coordinator Resource, Summit County Rescue Group and a Flight for Life helicopter.

Two other snowmobilers in the area were also given his last location and sent into the field from Vail Pass to search for him.

The helicopter and a rescue team eventually found and lifted him back to safety.

Dog saved from 14er during 8-hour Fourth of July weekend rescue

A seven-member volunteer team of rescuers from Alpine Rescue Team on July 2 spent eight hours rescuing a dog from the sheer east-facing side of Torreys Peak. The dog’s owners called for rescuers after she fell 600 feet over the side of the mountain, and 26 people responded to their call.

A rescuer descended about 30 feet to rescue the dog, and the team saved her using a bag as a makeshift harness.

CPW river ranger makes three round-trip Arkansas river crossings to save stranded rafters

A Colorado Parks and Wildlife river ranger traversed the Arkansas River in Brown’s Canyon three times overnight July 6 to save three rafters who had become stranded on the canyon’s sheer side.

Two Chaffee County Search and Rescue North team members and a team from Chaffee County SAR South assisted ranger Jeff Hammond in the daunting rescue that sent him bushwhacking through brush to the water’s edge in the darkness, kayaking across the river and back twice, then crossing the river a third time to rescue the rafters.

Aspen man’s body recovered after two-day search, rescue and recovery effort

A hiker reported missing from work July 30 was found dead in Conundrum Couloir during search and rescue efforts, and it took two days to recover his body due to weather conditions.

Mountain Rescue Aspen and the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office began the search for the man, and when the team climbed up the couloir, they found the hiker’s body wedged into the skier’s lift against the rock face and mostly covered by snow.

Mountain Rescue Aspen wasn’t able to attempt recovery that day due to weather and had to return two days later on Aug. 2 for the hiker’s body.

Hiker found dead two months after going missing; his dog found alive with his body

Local, state and national search and rescue teams spent nearly 2,000 cumulative hours searching for a Pagosa Springs hiker and his dog who went missing in August before a hunter found the hiker’s body and the dog alive in late October.

Rich Moore, 71, was reported missing Aug. 19 in the area of Blackhead Peak approximately 18 miles east of Pagosa Springs. A hunter on Oct. 30 reported to the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office he saw the hiker and a white dog in the lower Blanco River drainage basin.

On Oct. 31, a team flew in to recover Moore’s body and rescue Finney, the dog who stayed with her owner for more than ten weeks and who has regained her strength after losing half her body weight.

Driver gets vehicle stuck on hiking trail on 14er

A driver who apparently didn’t realize he was on a hiking trail, not a road, got his pickup truck stuck above 10,000 feet elevation on Mount Lincoln in Park County on Aug. 27, and it took several days for crews to recover the truck.

The nonprofit group Colorado 4×4 Rescue and Recovery said it spent 132 volunteer hours, and team members drove a total of 1,480 miles during its unsuccessful attempt to recover the GMC Canyon. Towing company Mountain Recovery eventually got the truck down the mountain.

 Man last heard from Sept. 27 in Rocky Mountain National Park still missing

Rocky Mountain National Park officials announced Oct. 12 that broad-scale search efforts for Chad Pallansch, a 46-year-old Fort Collins man, had been suspended. The search involved closing a large area that was reopened after federal, state and local search and rescue crews unsuccessfully combed the area.

Pallansch was reported missing in the park Sept. 28 after last being heard from the previous day when he was near the summit of Mount Alice, according to park officials. Park rangers found his car still parked at the North Inlet Trailhead near Grand Lake, where he started his planned 28-mile trek.

A GoFundMe started for Pallansch’s family states efforts to find him will likely not resume until late next summer.

Hiker with no food, water or cold-weather gear saved from Colorado 13er after 10-hour rescue

An ill-prepared hiker who attempted to bushwhack to the summit of a 13er in Chaffee County on Nov. 8 was located and brought down safely by Chaffee County Search and Rescue North after nearly 10 hours.

The person had been caught in inclement weather and was hypothermic when found by search and rescue.

The hiker contacted 911 about 7 p.m., and a rescue team found them about 2 a.m. After warming the individual up for three hours, the team began extracting them around 5 a.m. They were being evaluated in an ambulance by 7 a.m.

Chicago family rescued from Greenhorn Mountain in southern Colorado

A Pueblo County Search and Rescue team was flown by Flight for Life to the top of North Peak to rescue a family of five visiting from Chicago who were stuck on Greenhorn Mountain on Nov. 22.

The family of three adults and two children set out from the Greenhorn Trailhead, which has 3,880 feet of elevation gain.

The rescue team hiked with the family a mile over the peak, where they were joined by county and local fire personnel, and then hiked to Ophir Creek, where emergency vehicles were waiting for them. The rescue took about seven hours.

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