The first major snowstorm of the winter has begun to blanket the Western Slope, with nearly two feet of snow forecast for favored areas, including Telluride, by Thursday evening.

As of Wednesday morning, the towns of Telluride and Ridgway had already received about six inches of snow and Ouray and Montrose had seen about three inches, with the biggest snowfall forecast for Wednesday night.

The National Weather Service in Grand Junction has forecast between 10 and 20 inches of total accumulation from the storm, with the storm tapering off on Thursday.

Earlier storms had already brought as much as 30 inches of snow in some areas, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, although much of it has melted off.