A roundup of weather events happening around Colorado on Friday:
8:10 p.m UPDATE
Both east- and westbound lanes of Interstate 70 have reopened from Copper Mountain to Vail with chain and traction laws in effect, Colorado State Patrol tweeted.
7:28 p.m. UPDATE
Colorado State Patrol at Eagle reported 10 inches of snowfall there over the past five hours. Interstate 70 at Vail Pass has not yet reopened.
7:25 UPDATE
The National Weather Service in Pueblo has issued a tornado warning for Baca County.
7:13 UPDATE
Bustang announced that service for the remainder of the weekend is "to be determined" based on road and weather conditions.
7:04 p.m. UPDATE
About 57 percent - or 678 - of Denver International Airport's Saturday flights have been canceled because of the impending storm, according to a DIA press release. The current forecast for the airport calls for 9 to 16 inches of snow through Sunday.
United Airlines is canceling all Denver flights on Saturday and plans to resume operations on Sunday, per the release.
6:42 p.m. UPDATE
Colorado State Patrol at Eagle tweeted that CSP and Colorado Department of Transportation crews are working on clearing stuck cars and plowing Interstate 70 at Vail Pass. They hope to reopen the road within 45 minutes to an hour.
4:45 UPDATE
A flash flood warning is in effect for Baca and Las Animas counties until 5:45 p.m. and for Kiowa County until 6:30 p.m.
3:20 p.m. UPDATE
The Colorado Springs Airport said all United Airlines flights to and from Denver on Saturday have been cancelled.
The airport asks passengers to check official flight statuses.
3:12 p.m. UPDATE
A flash flood warning has been issued by the National Weather Service for Kiowa County.
3:05 P.M. UPDATE
The Colorado Department of Transportation put the state's traction law into effect Friday afternoon for Interstate 70 in both directions between Vail and Copper Mountain, according to The Denver Post.
The traction law requires all passenger vehicles have snow or mud/snow tires, use chain or alternative traction devices or be a four or all-wheel-drive vehicle.
2:30 p.m. UPDATE
A tornado warning has been issued in central Kiowa County with a confirmed tornado moving on the ground.
The tornado is moving north at 30 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
Two circulations have been reported near Eads, the weather service tweeted. Both are southwest of Eads.
The tornado warning has been extended until 3:15 p.m.
The weather service is also reporting large hail across north-central Kiowa County.
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Don't be fooled, Colorado Springs residents.
Friday will likely start off mild with temperatures in the 60s around lunchtime. But not long after that, likely around 3 p.m., thunderstorms could roll in, setting off a potentially ugly weekend of pounding snow, heavy rain and gusty conditions.
The southeastern plains - including La Junta, Limon and Springfield - could have severe thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening, according to a weather report by Gazette news partner KKTV. The area could receive hail and even isolated tornadoes.
The Pikes Peak region might see thunderstorms Friday afternoon, "but nowhere near as strong as the plains," KKTV reports. However, "the surge of moisture will lend itself to widespread rain and snowfall with temperatures falling fast enough to allow of snowfall, then accumulating snowfall across the Pikes Peak Region by mid to late Saturday morning."
According to the National Weather Service in Pueblo, Colorado Springs could see a high near 62 degrees on Friday with a 60 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms hitting the city after 4 p.m. The rain might turn into snowfall after 11 p.m., the weather service reports.
Temperatures are expected to drop significantly through the region Saturday.
The weather service predicts up to 5 inches of snow at the Colorado Springs Airport during the day before another 2 to 4 inches through the evening. A high of 37 degrees is forecast in the city.
By Sunday morning, the storm will impact the southern parts of the state but conditions are expected to taper by midday, KKTV predicts.
KKTV chief meteorologist Brian Bledsoe said the one-two punch snowstorm is slow-moving and could stay around until Monday.
The southeastern plains could receive more than 2 inches of rain. In a report, KKTV calls this "a potential drought-busting rainfall."
According to the weather service, the upper Arkansas River Basin - which feeds Colorado Springs and other surrounding communities along its path - is 7 percent higher than normal for April, and 12 percent higher than in 2015 at this time.
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