A major winter storm could blanket parts of Colorado with up to 30 centimeters of snow

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis declared a state of disaster emergency Thursday due to a severe winter storm that hit parts of the state.

On Friday, the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for nearly every county in Colorado east of the Continental Divide.

20 to 30 cm of snow was forecast for Denver and Boulder, while the plains to the east were expected to see 10 to 20 cm. Accumulated snow was expected to cause closures and dangerous driving conditions across much of the affected area.

Many schools in Denver and across the state were closed Friday because of the storm. According to the governor's press release, state government offices were closed in affected areas on Friday and many workers shifted to remote work.

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The Colorado National Guard was activated to respond to the storm, making members available for emergency response and rescue operations.

Colorado has also activated state emergency departments responsible for managing operations and responding to emergency situations. The declaration gives the state more leeway to allocate resources depending on the storm's impact.

Snowfall was forecast to continue late into Friday. Windy conditions with gusts up to 60 mph were forecast for parts of the Front Range over the weekend.