Colorado Governor Jared Polis declared a state of emergency on Thursday due to a severe winter storm hitting parts of the state.

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

Denver and Boulder were forecast to get between 8 and 12 inches of snow, while the Plains to the east could see four to eight inches. Accumulated snow was expected to lead to closures and hazardous driving conditions in much of the affected area.

Many schools in Denver and across the state were closed Friday due to the severe weather. According to the governor’s press release, state government offices in the affected areas were closed Friday, with many employees switching to remote work.

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The Colorado National Guard has been 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 responses during emergencies. The declaration gives the state more leeway to deploy resources depending on the impact of the storm.

The snowfall was forecast to continue until late Friday. Windy conditions with gusts up to 60 miles per hour were forecast for parts of the Front Range this weekend.