I-70 Daily Snow
By Sam Collentine, Meteorologist Posted 1 year ago November 28, 2022
Very Heavy Snow & Difficult Travel Tuesday
Summary
Mostly dry and windy on Monday ahead of very heavy snow and difficult travel from Monday night through early Tuesday afternoon. Very cold during the second half of Tuesday and into Tuesday night. Dry and warmer on Wednesday and Thursday. Multiple rounds of snow follow from Friday, December 2 through Tuesday, December 6.
Short Term Forecast
I-70 Snow Conditions
I-70 Travel Conditions
Monday
We'll remain mostly dry under cloudy skies and windy conditions ahead of the storm that is set to arrive on Monday night. Temps will start in the teens and rise into the 20s.
Monday Night - Tuesday
The significant storm that we've been watching develop since last week will finally arrive on Monday night.
I don't have a lot of big updates to share this morning other than the models continuing to trend upward in regards to our snow potential from Monday night through Tuesday afternoon.
A very strong cold front will arrive on Monday night, likely right around midnight, and kick-off a period of intense snowfall rates for a couple of hours. The winds will then shift from the west-southwest to blowing out of the west-northwest from Tuesday morning through Tuesday afternoon.
The OpenSnow Forecast Radar below does a good job of showing the heavy band of precipitation on Monday night, lighter snowfall on Tuesday morning, followed by a short burst of healthy orographic snowfall around midday Tuesday.
Our snow showers should then come to an end around 5 PM on Tuesday evening as very cold air shuts off any remaining snow production in the atmosphere. Temps will quickly drop from the single digits to below 0F on Tuesday night under clearing skies.
In total, I'm bumping the forecast once more up to 6-12 inches from Monday night through Tuesday evening, with 3-6 inches for Tuesday morning's reports and another 2-4+ inches from 5 AM Tuesday through 5 PM Tuesday. Get out there and enjoy the early-season powder!
Wednesday - Thursday
Wednesday morning will then start out cold ahead of temperatures quickly warming back up through Wednesday afternoon under sunny skies. Thursday will also be dry, though we could see a bit more cloud coverage and windy conditions ahead of our next series of storms through the upcoming weekend.
Travel Forecast
Dry road surfaces and normal travel speeds will continue through Monday evening.
Icy and snow-packed road surfaces, along with difficult travel conditions due to heavy snow and reduced visibility, will follow from Monday night through Tuesday afternoon. The worst driving conditions will be encountered during the overnight hours, which is good news for most travelers.
Give yourself plenty of extra travel time on Tuesday morning due to very slick/snowy road surfaces and possible road closures. Stay tuned to CDOT for the latest road updates.
Slick and snowy road surfaces will continue to be encountered on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning ahead of dry road surfaces prevailing by Wednesday afternoon. Icy surfaces will remain in place over the higher passes.
Dry road surfaces should continue on Thursday ahead of more wet, slick, and snowy road surfaces from Friday through next Tuesday, December 6.
Extended Forecast
Friday & Beyond
We'll welcome in the month of December with stormy weather as multiple rounds of snow target Colorado from Friday, December 2 through Tuesday, December 6.
This early December snowfall will be delivered from remnant atmospheric river moisture that will move inland and up into Colorado beginning around Friday. The first wave will likely last through Saturday, followed by another wave around Sunday through next Tuesday, as seen in the ensemble snow forecast below.
As I mentioned in Sunday's update, the takeaway message is very active and snowy weather will close out November and continue as we flip the calendar into December. Great news for our early-season snowpack.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for daily updates!
SAM COLLENTINE