Watch: Heavy snow leads to travel nightmare in Denver
Over half a foot of snow fell across the Denver metro area Wednesday night and Thursday morning, creating a messy and slippery situation on the roads.
Wild ride in Wednesday snow for Denver
A storm chaser driving on I-70 through Denver caught accidents and spin-outs for miles. The video is a couple minutes long but tells the story of what not to do while driving in the snow.
DENVER – Spin-outs, slides, stalls, stuck cars: It was a travel nightmare for drivers in Denver on Wednesday night.
Motorists hitting the interstate before the plows couldn’t keep control of their vehicles in the quickly deepening snow.
"Denver chaos with heavy wet snow," storm chaser David Baxter told FOX Weather. "Tons of slide-offs, stalled vehicles, cars stuck on a bridge and a live spin out in front of me. Craziness."
Baxter said that as he slowly rolled down Interstate 70 in Denver, cars and trucks tried to overtake him.
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It appeared that drivers who thought they were driving slowly enough fishtailed and then pulled to the side of the road. In his video of the storm, two cars were seen colliding in what seemed like slow-motion.
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Image 1 of 10Cars are stuck trying to climb up an overpass while other vehicles try to pass them. (SCV/David Baxter )
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Image 2 of 10This car lost control and started skidding but in the end was able to maintain control. (SCV/David Baxter )
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Image 3 of 10(SCV/David Baxter )
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Image 4 of 10(SCV/David Baxter )
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Image 5 of 10This car spun-out and was perpendicular to I-70 traffic. (SCV/David Baxter )
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Image 6 of 10Take a look at the tire tracks all over the road. (SCV/David Baxter )
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Image 7 of 10(SCV/David Baxter )
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Image 8 of 10(SCV/David Baxter )
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Image 9 of 10(SCV/David Baxter )
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Image 10 of 10(SCV/David Baxter )
Baxter said cars and trucks tried to climb the bridge exit ramp hill to get over I-70. One car slid to the left down the grade and joined at least 10 other cars stuck in the deep snow that previously tried the maneuver.
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The Colorado Department of Transportation had to close portions of both I-70 and Interstate 25 for hours to not only prevent accidents but to clear the ones that were already on the road and blocking traffic.
One driver stuck in the I-70 closure from Idaho Springs to Denver said he didn't move for hours. He caught a man taking his dog for a walk next to the stopped line of traffic.
Man takes dog for a walk while stuck in traffic
Man did not make his best friend wait for a break while the two were stuck in a car heading from Idaho Springs, Colorado to Denver. Traffic came to a standstill for hours as the Colorado DOT was forced to close I-70 due to the multiple accidents. The furry friend even tried to make friends with other stranded motorists.
"It was supposed to be a three-hour drive home that ended up being 12 hours," Ian Curtis told Storyful. "That specific area where I filmed, we didn’t move a single inch for about three hours."
Snow fell as fast as 2 inches per hour, according to the National Weather Service. Denver International Airport reported a total of 7.1 inches by Thursday morning. Boulder got almost 9 inches.
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The FOX Forecast Center said that snows will end today. The NWS and CDOT warned that some roads will remain closed amid icy conditions that were expected to stick around through the day.
Download the FOX Weather app or watch FOX Weather on TV to get the latest snow forecasts if you are hitting the road into the New Year’s holiday weekend.