Passes closed...about two weeks earlier than normal. Early snow shuts down Independence, Cottonwood. Winter weather will return to Colorado later today and Thursday as a powerful Pacific storm moves into the state prompting forecasters with the National Weather Service to issue a variety of watches and advisories. All of Southeastern Colorado is under a blizzard watch beginning at 9 p.m. today continuing through 5 p.m. Thursday. A winter storm watch covers the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the Wet Mountains where up to a foot of snow may fall and wind gusts could reach 40 miles per hour. A snow...
