Gov. Polis declares disaster emergency, deploys Colorado National Guard during winter storm

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - On Thursday, Colorado Governor Jared Polis declared a disaster emergency due to the severe weather conditions throughout the state.

Polis said authorized unarmed Colorado National Guard members would be deployed to assist with winter storm support.

"The declaration also activates the Colorado State Emergency Operations Center and the State Emergency Operations Plan and directs the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to take all necessary and appropriate State actions to assist the affected jurisdictions with their response, recovery, and mitigation efforts. This also allows the OEM to mobilize state resources and to make contracts and awards using Emergency Procurement Procedures," Gov. Polis said.

Friday, the storm is expected to continue developing.for weather updates provided by KKTV's weather team.