Summary

• Heavy snow on Friday
• Snow-packed road surfaces
• Recommend only traveling with snow tires & 4WD/AWD
• Road closures possible midday Friday
• Light snow Friday night
• Dry weather Saturday through Tuesday
• Snow returns next Wednesday

Details

Friday will be our last day of snow until next Wednesday so let's get right to it. Most locations received about an inch last night and light showers will continue to fall during the early morning hours on Friday. Berthoud Pass, Loveland Pass, Vail Pass and the road surfaces near the Eisenhower tunnel will remain under an icy and snow-packed mix through Friday morning. 

Then come midday Friday, our last round of heavy snow for the week will move into the I-70 mountain corridor. All of the ingredients are there for a classic quick heavy snow event. Snowfall rates should pick up sometime around 10am and really get going by 11am. Here's the last three model runs of the high-resolution forecasted radar at 11am on Friday. The bright green indicates heavy precipitation or snow in our case. 

All road surfaces will become completely snow-packed from roughly Georgetown on the east side of the tunnel through Vail. The initial punch of this storm could also cause the road surfaces to change very quickly, which can be a recipe for disaster when we are talking about traveling along I-70. Road closures are not out the question so stay tuned to CDOT for the latest travel information. As I mentioned yesterday, I would only recommend traveling along the corridor on Friday if you have snow tires AND a 4-wheel drive or all-wheel drive vehicle. 

Need to know if your tires are in good shape? Check out the fact sheet regarding the CDOT traction and passenger vehicle law: http://opsw.co/1MFFF8V

Snowfall rates will wane as we head into Friday evening but showers will continue into Friday night, especially along the divide. The road surfaces will not see much improvement until late-Friday so give yourself extra time if you are traveling up to the high country from the Front Range. 

Our weather will then dry out on Saturday and stay dry through next Tuesday. 

With Vail opening on Friday, that will make seven of the eight I-70 resorts open for the season! This, combined with all the recent snow, should make for more skier traffic along the I-70 corridor this weekend. The information below is a combination of my history traveling along I-70 and GOI70. 

• Friday Evening: There really shouldn't be any delays due to increased traffic but the road surfaces will not be in great shape. Give yourself plenty of time and check CDOT for the latest road conditions and closures. 
• Saturday Westbound: Could be a slight uptick in traffic between 7am and 10am. One lane will be also be closed from 10am to 5pm between Idaho Springs and Empire. Delays of 30 minutes can be expected. 
• Saturday Eastbound: Day trippers returning home could put a little stress on travel between 2pm and 6pm. One lane will also be closed from 10am to 5pm between Idaho Springs and Empire. Delays of 30 minutes can be expected. 
• Sunday Eastbound: Skiers returning to the Front Range could slow travel for up to 20 minutes between 2pm and 6pm.

Our attention will then turn to the middle of next week as another strong system moves into the western US. We will give this a few more days before we really dig into the details. Travel safe today and enjoy all that fresh powder!

SAM COLLENTINE