I-70 Daily Snow

Heads up, there may be fresher snow! Read the latest I-70 Daily Snow

By Sam Collentine, Meteorologist Posted 4 years ago November 20, 2019

Lookin' REALLY Good

Summary

Multiple rounds of snow will deliver 4-8 inches from Wednesday through Friday. After a dry weekend, the snow machine will ramp back up and deliver multiple storms through the week of Thanksgiving and into early December. Icy and snow-packed road surfaces will be encountered on Wednesday afternoon, all day Thursday, and again on Friday morning. Snow tires are highly recommended moving forward.

Short Term Forecast

I-70 Snow Report

Conditions Report

Snowfall History

I-70 Travel Conditions

Cams

CDOT Alerts

CDOT Twitter

Details

Cloudy skies moved in on Tuesday night and this was the signal for our next round of snow by Wednesday afternoon. Temps will climb into the upper 20s on the mountains for Wednesday and this will likely be the warmest that it will be for quite some time.

Expect flakes to begin to fly by late Wednesday morning, with our first wave of accumulating snow on Wednesday afternoon (2-5 PM). Look for 1-4 inches during this wave before we quiet down into Wednesday night. The road surfaces will quickly turn over to icy and snow-packed under this initial wave so expect slower travel speeds. 

We'll then be looking for another wave or two on Thursday and into Thursday night. We'll be working with a lot of moisture and a shift to more of a westerly wind direction during this time so confidence is rising that we could pick up at least 3-6 inches. I'm keeping my expectations in check but double-digit totals could be in-store.

For travel, expect to encounter icy, slushy, and maybe a few snow-packed road surfaces on Thursday, with slower travel speeds over the higher passes. The heaviest snowfall will likely be encountered on Thursday night so expect close to normal travel speeds during the day and slower travel speeds during the overnight hours. 

Following a few lingering flakes and temps in the upper teens to low 20s on Friday, dry weather will settle in for the upcoming weekend. Expect mostly sunny skies and temps in the 20s on Saturday, followed by increasing cloud coverage and temps in the 20s on Sunday.

All road surfaces will become clear and mostly dry for Saturday, November 23rd and Sunday, November 24th.

Extended Forecast

Looking ahead to next week, it's all good news. Multiple storms will roll into Colorado and provide us with everything we want and more.

As of now, the first storm will arrive around Monday, November 25th, followed by the second system around Thanksgiving Day, November 28th. This will provide us with plenty of fresh snow to enjoy over the holiday but also snow-packed road surfaces. This will combine with periods of heavy traffic so give yourself plenty of travel time.

I'll continue to dig into the details this week and early next week but all signs are pointing towards storms continuing into early December. BRING IT ON.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for daily updates!

SAM COLLENTINE

Announcements

Snow Tires / Traction

When a "Code 15" of the Chain Law is in effect, all vehicles must have one of the following in order to proceed:

1) Snow tires with a minimum of 3/16” of tread; or
2) All-weather tires with a mud and snow (M/S) mark with 3/16” of tread; or
3) Four-wheel drive with 3/16” of tread; or
4) Traction devices (chains, auto-sock, etc.) for two-wheel-drive tires.

I can't recommend snow tires enough. It's not only for your own safety and peace of mind but for the other travelers around you. Visit CDOT.com for more information and their Tires & Chains FAQ.

I-70 Ski Resort Terrain Status

Arapahoe Basin: OPEN

Beaver Creek: CLOSED (Opens 11/23/2019)

Breckenridge: OPEN

Copper Mountain: OPEN

Echo Mountain: CLOSED (Opens 11/29/2019)

Keystone: OPEN

Loveland: OPEN

Vail: OPEN

Winter Park: OPEN

About Our Forecaster

Sam Collentine

Meteorologist

Sam Collentine is the Chief Operating Officer of OpenSnow and lives in Basalt, Colorado. Before joining OpenSnow, he studied Atmospheric Science at the University of Colorado, spent time at Channel 7 News in Denver, and at the National Weather Service in Boulder.

Free OpenSnow App