Snow removal efforts are in full swing in Colorado Springs and El Paso County to deal with the first major snowfall of the winter.

Between 6 and 12 inches of snow have fallen across southern Colorado since Tuesday night, with Colorado Springs hit hardest by the storm. Local governments deploy entire teams in 12-hour shifts most of the week to clear snowfall and get ahead of the next batch of snow.

Corey Farkas, director of operations and maintenance for Colorado Springs, said it took until 3 a.m. Wednesday for the city to clear the streets faster than they were covered in snow.

“There were times last night when it snowed well over an inch per hour. At this point, we’re just trying to keep one lane open on each of these major roads,” Farkas said.

The city and district are making an all-out effort to clear the streets as quickly as possible. Colorado Springs deployed a fleet of 50 snow removal vehicles. El Paso County deployed an additional 30 to 35 trucks to work on major roads and 20 sign workers to clear the county's gravel roads.

The city and district administration offered snow schools in the fall to prepare their new drivers to operate the heavy plows. Crews began preparing plows and road preparation earlier this week as the storm forecast became increasingly likely.

An active winter weather event dashboard is included on the county's website and shows real-time road clearance work. The dashboard shows trucks had cleared more than 2,000 miles of high-priority roads by early Wednesday afternoon.

This work covers about half of the 4,400 lane miles that Highway Division Manager Tim Stickel is tracking across the county. Stickel said plows focused on the busiest roads throughout the morning and began expanding to secondary access roads late Wednesday morning.

“There have been a few strong gusts of wind, but so far we are consistent in moving forward and not having to attack areas again where the snow is moving back in,” Stickel said.

Colorado Springs began recovering Wednesday afternoon ahead of the storm's next phase. The National Weather Service has placed a winter storm watch in place for Colorado Springs and most of the county starting at 11 p.m., predicting a possible additional 4 to 6 inches of snowfall by the end of Thursday.

Other parts of the county are under stricter storm watches until Friday night. National Weather Service advisories predict up to 8 inches of snow in the northern part of El Paso County and between 6 and 15 inches of snow in the mountains around Pikes Peak and Woodland Park.

Colorado Springs doesn't use deicer to treat roads before snowfall because the city doesn't have the space to store the tens of thousands of gallons needed. The Colorado Department of Transportation uses a liquid anti-icing agent to prepare highways before winter storms and a de-icing agent to remove ice when it forms.

That is changing. Farkas said the public works department completed an 80,000-gallon storage facility on the city's north side last year. A similar facility is in the works on the south side and is scheduled to open by the end of 2025.

“That would allow us to get there and survey the bridges and hills, the known trouble spots, and pre-treat them,” Farkas said.

City and county crews are warning drivers not to drive close behind snow plows or try to pass them while they clear roads.