near evergreen. at least two deadly crashes, one on i-25 near i-76 and another on i-70 near silverthorne, weather likely a factor on the one near silverthorne. roads are wet and slick across the metro area. kathy is with us now and the cold will be the shock to the season. >> the first snowfall of the season, a wet sloppy evening commute, but the storm is already lifting to e heavy snow out of the metro area by about 8:00 or 9:00 tonight. roads are wet and sloppy, a couple inches of snow on the grass, this powerful low pressure system dropping a little further south than the models indicated. so the bands of precipitation moving through could drop another quick inch of accumulation on grassy surfaces. the whole low beginning to push into northeastern colorado and then eventually the midwest where blizzard warnings remain in effect tonight. the wind is a big piece of this

impacting colorado in a good way for the high country. resorts enjoying 5 to 10 inches of snow with it a winter storm warning up north, winter weather advisories continuing for the i-70 corridor, comer, breck, aspen -- copper, breck, aspen, these areas looking at about 6 inches of snow. tonight we could see a quick inch of snow between now and 8:00. skies clear and then the focus will be on temperatures which continue to drop, a very cold night coming up tonight. many areas will see overnight low temperatures in the en on your friday morning. speaking of friday we'll look ahead to the weekend in a few minutes as well and really the big story as i mentioned in the next few hours will be the cold. the snow is on its way out. >> see you in a bit and look forward to some more warmer weather. but let's first talk with 9news mountain newsroom reporter matt renoux.

along the i-70 corridor. >> reporter: there's been a lot of problems with snow and crashes along this interstate in the mountains all day long. eastbound i-70 in silverthorne still closed and slick conditions up there, this winter storm catching drivers off guard. today started out pretty much like every day in november. it was in the 50s. then in about 30 minutes time temperatures dropped quickly and so did the snow along i-70 and the little cars getting stuck all day. that's keeping tow truck drivers literally running to keep up with all the accidents and people getting stuck. >> light snow, then all of a sudden it was really heavy and traffic came to a stop. >> cars were flying all over the place, all sides of the road. it was nuts. we tried to push people. it was kind of chaotic on the side of the road there. >> reporter: this storm just

it was so warm as it has been all month, warm and dry in november, and then the snow came and temperatures dropped, freezing a lot of roads in the high country and causing a lot of accidents, but for as bad as the driving has been today, the good news, this storm rolls in right before keystone and copper mountain are set to open. you might remember they delayed their opening because there just wasn't any snow. they got plenty now. >> that's good news for them. matt renoux, stay warm, thanks. >>el challenging, too. the same storm also brought cold and snow to parts of central wyoming. the storm will continue to move eastward into the great plains and northeast in the next few days. we'll check back in with kathy to see when we could see another round coming up. investigators are searching a manure pile on the laramie community college campus in cheyenne looking for the remains of a missing 13-month- old boy. the sheriff's office says three volunteer divers searched a

detectives are looking for the body of silas ojeda. sheriff's officials say she searched the pond. the boy friend of the -- they searched the pond. the boyfriend of the little boy's mother is charged with involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment. the man who killed 9 people and injuring others will spend the anniversary of the shooting in a state another 90 day mental competency evaluation based on a report from the psychiatric hospital. the shooter has been undergoing treatment since his last court hearing in may. he'll return to court to either be sent for another evaluation or found competent to stand trial. the shooter made more anti- abortion outbursts in court today as he's done previously in hearings. it is a debate over the way people choose to live.

steve bedigion lives in a pit he dug on his land. it might not look like much to some, but steven says it's his type of heaven. clark county is cracking down on these type of living quarters after an increase in camping on residential land. >> i'm not slob. i'm not a poacher. i'm not a slave for material things. >> rules are for a reason. there are other people who have invested in knowing what the zoning of the area was. >> what happens when someone's way of life is at odds with the rules? tonight at 9:00 and 10:00 we look at the off gridders of park county. the federal government is cancelling 25 oil and gas leases in the thompson divide west of carbondale, colorado. the interior secretary made the announcement in denver this morning. some oil and drilling will still be allowed on already developed areas of federal land but restricted on areas

the roan plateau will have similar decisions. >> i think both these decisions really fit in with the ethos of the state which is natural resources are very important for the economy, but at the same time quality of life is huge. it's huge. public lands play a very important role in that. >> the energy industry said the government simply backed out of valid contracts. the interior department believes the decision will hold up under the administration of president-elect trump. however, the interior secretary said she doesn't know what the new adst will be on managing public land. vice president-elect mike pence is on capitol hill today meeting behind closed doors with house speaker paul ryan for the transition of power. ahead of that meeting pence posed for a selfie. the house gop tweeted out this photo of the members behind vice president-elect pence as

the retired three star general is a controversial not so politically correct supporter of trump criticized by national security experts throughout the campaign. south carolina governor nikki haley was at trump tower today under consideration for secretary of state. an nbc source said today mitt romney is also being considered for the job. romney and trump are set to have a meeting this weekend. in march the massachusetts governor called trump a phoney and fraud. congressman tim to challenge nancy pelosi for the party's top leadership position in the house. he said what the party is doing now isn't working. house democrats hold leadership elections november 30th. in her first public appearance since the election hillary clinton told democrats not to give up. >> please don't lose heart. don't give up on the values we share. >> the former secretary of

washington d.c. president obama met with german chancellor angela merkel in berlin today. this is the second and final european stop of the president's last foreign trip in office. he's answering questions and concerns by european leaders about the future of the u.s. under donald trump. today he said he's cautiously optimistic about the president- elect. on cold snowy days like this the basic human need for clothing becomes more apparent, especially for people experiencing homelessn today's give-away of 8,000 pairs of cargo pants to the homeless perfect. linen company osco donated the pants which were handed out in coors field parking lot. organizers gave away hundreds of pairs of pants in just a few hours. >> you've got to keep yourself warm. you're not too hot. you got to have layers. that's why i've got one for summer because even the nights get cold out there. you've got to have one for winter, bigger size so you can

>> denver city council member debbie ortega helped organize today's give-away with mile high behavioral healthcare. kathy is monitoring this storm as it moves out of the area. we'll check with her in a few minutes. >> also ahead prescription drugs are expensive, but if you blame the drugmakers, hold off. our 9wants to know investigation revealed it's a little more complex than that. >> it's a problem facing millions of americans, the epidemic the surgeon general

volunteers from the

answering calls for dental line 9. they're answering your questions about adult dental procedures, gum health and how to find a good dentist. they'll be here another 20 minutes. the u.s. surgeon general says addiction has become epidemic in this country. a new report shows one in seven americans will face drug or alcohol addiction in his or her lifetime and only 10% of those addicted get treated for it. the surgeon general says besides allocating more money to prevention and treatment shift to treat addiction as a disease and not a morale flaw. more than 21 million -- moral flaw. more than 21 million american struggle with drug abuse which is more than all cancers combined. chris vanderveen is joining us now. there's a hidden player in the cost of drugs that some say bring up the price as well. >> we can play this along at

a pbm is in all the this? raise your hand at home. they're massive and yet most of us don't have any idea what they do. a drugmaker makes the drugs, you buy them, but in between you and them is a complicated and oftentimes secretive supply chain involving whole salers, pharmacy benefit managers and your insurance company. each one is in the business of making money and in this case taking money, but only one, the pbm, gets to do so without exactly they're taking. they insist they're saving you money. in some cases they are, but they're also collecting loads and loads of cash, so much so last year the two biggest pbms reported more than a quarter trillion in sales. most of us don't even know they exist turning what should be a simple supply chain into a complicated mess. so we started this project

insurance 101. that was entry level stuff. considered this story tonight advanced master's level stuff. it is complicated. stick with us on this because as one expert told us, you can't talk about drug price increases without talking about pharmacy benefit managers. a quarter of a trillion dollars in revenue. we here at 9news deal with care mart. they're very large. the other very large one, express scripts. >> can we do can we pull them out? >> they're the ones that process millions of claims every year, so they provide a service, but there's something below the surface we'll talk about tonight at 10:00. >> professor vanderveen, thank you, sir, we appreciate it. master level stuff. >> phd level stuff. >> thanks. the snow will start to taper off and then comes the

you can tell by the traffic we've kind of forgotten how to drive in sloppy weather. >> it's a muscle memory thing. it will take some time to get back to normal. we've see the mess that is i-70 and i-25. how are we looking out there right now? >> it's windy and cold and we

the first snow of the season creating some issues and we're starting to see about an inch or 2 of accumulation fall as the system pulls away. looking outside roads are mainly wet, visible poor and the wind picking up a bit as well. that's creating a little blowing snow. the main bull's eye for the snow is over is north central colorado shifting to the north eastern plains and eventually into the midwest where blizzard conditions are possible. a couple inches of wet north and west of town. these are preliminary numbers and we'll continue to update those as they come. in our high at just about 40 degrees today. we hit that real early in the day. as a matter of fact, we're already down to 27 now with wind chill at about 19. winds are increasing out of the north. that's what we have here in the 9news backyard outside the studios. we're just outside29 degrees and hovering around the

the metro area. the area of low pressure is spinning in northeastern colorado beginning to lift northeastward. like spokes on a wheel these waves and bands of snow are dropping across the front range and sliding east. areas in purple are where we're seeing the heaviest snowfall this hour. that is in jefferson county, douglas county and across elbert county. we've had reports of heavy snow in the northern and central mountains where a winter storm warning remains in effect through midnight. winter weather and travel advisories cover the area shaded in light blue about he as well. water vapor imagery shows moisture wrapping around this low, very classic low pressure system heading into the midwest tonight. it's a fast mover. with high pressure settling in tomorrow we'll be sunny, but windy and very cold as this system races to the east. the cold air will filter in. high temperatures tomorrow about where we were today, way below average in the upper 30s. the heavier snow bands start to

tonight. the system pulls away. a very cold night, but a sunny day tomorrow and the weekend. darker purple shaded areas are where we're seeing heavier bands pushing south and east. by 8:00 or 9:00 we start to see drying or clearing north to south by 10:00 to 11:00 tonight. then the big story will become the cold as overnight lows fall into the teens for many areas, single digits in the high country tonight, a bitterly cold evening. this is where we start off tomorrow morning. temperatures well below average, 30s and 40s for lower elevations and not a lot warmer anywhere across the state tomorrow. travel difficult tonight. that's the scenario that will play out on the i-70 corridor kicking off tomorrow morning and also the commute in denver due to the ice that we expect with wet roads and 18 degrees. clearing, very cold overnight. then we get sunshine. the cold north wind keeps temperatures in the 30s all

second half of the weekend, track a storm that could bring rain and snow tuesday, a much weaker storm with temperatures trending down, no big organized storm system looming on the horizon to really be a factor for the holiday travel week because we certainly do have a lot of folks that will travel next week. the wind and snow continuing in the 9news backyard right now. that's just because we're on the backside of that low. it's beginning to shift north and east. next couple hours will be a little tough to get ar we've been forewarned. please take it easy out there. >> we need this moisture so desperately. remember all the fires we covered yesterday. is . -- this is a good thing. the broncos may be on a roll after the bye week.

stocks gained ground again today as banks did well. the dow added more than 35. the s&p rose 10 and the nasdaq

from colorado's sports leader here's drew soicher. >> hi, everybody. rockies superstar nolan arenado had a better year than the mvp did and only fish the voting. arenado led the league in homers and runs batted in and captured another gold glove for his remarkable defense yet received zero first place votes and three for second. kris bryant was named mvp which i get. all victories aren't created equal. that's why the broncos have a great chance to win the super bowl again. when a team is on the verge of losing like the broncos were in new orleans sunday and suddenly

the outcome, it often creates a wave of momentum leading to a winning streak. for instance, remember the two touchdowns in nine seconds to stun the kansas city chiefs last year. that was fun, especially because the broncos won the next five and eventually the super bowl. >> we'll control what's going on with our team because we play everybody and throughout the division and what we're doing here in the back half. it's all you can ask for, but i'm proud of to get in the position that we're in. we all know we're hard on ourselves knowing we can get better. we're getting some guys back. it will be a tough stretch but a fun stretch. that's why you coach. that's why you play. >> the broncos are perfectly positioned to make another super bowl run. 9news broncos insider mike klis explains why on the pages of his notebook. >> reporter: be pleased,

this team has a seventh round first year starting quarterback and an offensive line that just benched its highest paid blocker, the good and bad of the broncos through 10 games. the defense has mostly stayed hungry. it's not quite the unit that won the super bowl last season, but von miller and aqib talib won some games early. darian stewart and safeties won game 10. the bad? the offensive line has not improved as hope and donald stephenson has been replaced. after the bye the broncos can't ask for a better schedule. they trail the chiefs and play them twice. they trail the patriots and raiders and play them once each. so much say the remain -- some say the remaining schedule is difficult and it is, but if the broncos want to avoid playing that afc championship game in foxboro, they'll have to take

remaining games. mike klis, 9news. it was november 17th, 2011, exactly five years ago, that tim tebow completed the most miraculous comeback of his nfl career. tebow led a 95-yard drive and scored a touchdown with less than a minute to go in a 17-14 victory over the jets. it was november 17th, 1985, 31 years ago, that dennis smith blocked the san diego chargers overtime field goal attempt and fellow ring of fa winning touchdown. also remember peter forsberg, two years ago today he was inducted into the hockey hall of fame and someday we will celebrate a happy noliversary celebrating a nolan arenado mvp. two years in a row led the league in homers and r.b.i.s.

all the voters think it's so easy to hit at coors field. >> it's so unfair. >> it's disrespectful. >> he worked so hard. >> next year, right? >> or else. >> i don't know. it's still snowing out there, windy. we got a couple more hours of this. so another inch or so of snow. i think roads will stay wet, but temperatures will drop to the teens tonight. there may be ice for the morning drive.

we are in charlotte where tonight the saints are in town to face the panthers, and both teams with the playoff hopes flick flickering. 37-year-old drew brees is set to lead the league's top passing attack against carolina who will count ont cam newton to salvage the season if there is in fa time for that. >> act like this is the defining win. >> a pair of teams trying to