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

Friday National Meteorological Service declared winter storm warnings for nearly every county in Colorado east of the Continental Divide.

Denver and Boulder were forecast to get eight to 12 inches of snow, while eastern lowland regions could see four to eight inches. Accumulating snow was expected to cause closures and hazardous driving conditions across much of the affected area.

Many schools in Denver and the wider state were closed Friday due to the severe weather. State government offices were closed Friday in affected areas, according to the governor’s press release, with many workers 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 also activated state emergency divisions responsible for operations management and emergency response. The declaration gives the state more freedom to deploy resources based on the effects of the storm.

The snow was forecast to last until late Friday. Wind gust conditions of up to 60 miles per hour were forecast for parts of the Front Range over the weekend.