I-70 Daily Snow
By Sam Collentine, Meteorologist Posted 1 year ago March 25, 2023
Fluffy & Chilly
Summary
2-5 inches for Saturday's reports. 10-21 inches over the past 5 days. Very cold with lingering snow showers on Saturday. Another round of light snow Sunday evening. Very cold with lingering snow showers on Monday. Dry and much warmer Tuesday into Wednesday. More snow Thursday, March 30 into Friday, March 31.
Short Term Forecast
I-70 Snow Conditions
I-70 Travel Conditions
Storm Recap
We came into the second half of Friday thinking that we would receive 2-6 inches. We've now awoken to 2-5 inches on Saturday morning, with Beaver Creek, Vail, and Winter Park all coming out on the higher end.
From a snowpack perspective, every ski area along I-70 is either near or above average. Beaver Creek and Vail have benefited from the storm track all season and it shows in their snowpack graphs.
Saturday
Our storm from Friday night is now well to our east but we'll continue to receive mostly cloudy skies and lingering snow showers through Saturday afternoon. As we've been discussing all week, it's now VERY cold on Saturday morning with temps hovering below 0°F. They will only rise into the low single digits so bundle up out there.
Sunday - Monday
We'll then receive some clearing on Saturday night and into Sunday morning, along with lighter winds compared to Saturday. Temps will once again start below 0°F before rising to near 10°F under partly sunny skies by midday Sunday.
For the second half of Sunday and into Monday, we'll be tracking another cold ripple in the atmosphere that we'll produce anywhere from 1-3 inches through Monday morning. This wave will also tow in another day of single-digit temps. Winter has a firm grip on Colorado and there's really no end in sight.
Tuesday - Wednesday
Dry weather and much warmer temps will then prevail on Tuesday and into Wednesday. Look for mid-mountain temps back in the upper 20s to low 30s under partly sunny skies.
Travel Forecast
Icy and snow-packed road surfaces will remain in place through Saturday morning ahead of wet and a few lingering snow-packed road surfaces from Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning.
Icy and snow-packed road surfaces will then return from Sunday afternoon through Monday morning. Expect slower travel speeds during this time, especially along eastbound I-70.
Dry road surfaces prevail from Monday afternoon through Wednesday, March 29 ahead of more wet, slick, and snow-packed road surfaces on Thursday, March 30 and into Friday, March 31.
We're entering that time of year when the higher sun angle really begins to be our friend in regards to clearing snowy road surfaces during the midday hours. Heavy snowfall rates can still overcome this higher sun angle so always remember to take it slow and give yourself extra travel time while driving during heavy snow.
Extended Forecast
Thursday & Beyond
Not much has changed as we look ahead to the storm during the final days of March. The storm could arrive as early as Wednesday night, with the heaviest snow on Thursday, followed by lingering snow showers into Friday. This looks like another 4-10 inch storm but as always, we'll adjust as we get closer.
Looking further ahead, we'll likely receive dry weather on Saturday, April 1 and into Sunday, April 2 ahead of yet another cold storm early in the week of April 3-5. More details to come.
Thanks for reading!
SAM COLLENTINE