I-70 Daily Snow
By Sam Collentine, Meteorologist Posted 6 years ago October 19, 2017
Loveland opens Friday, snow returns Friday night
Summary
Warm on Thursday, followed by windy conditions ahead of snow on Friday night. Minor travels impacts through Saturday. Dry weather prevails on Sunday and remains in place through next week.
Short Term Forecast
Snow returns this weekend but in case you missed the announcement, Loveland will begin their 2017-18 season on Friday (Oct. 20) at 9 am. They will join Arapahoe Basin as the only two resorts open in Colorado and this will remain the case until early-to-mid November.
Click HERE to see all of Colorado's projected opening dates.
After another warm but windy day on Friday, our next round of snow will arrive on Friday night. Periods of light to moderate snow will continue to fall through Saturday afternoon before tapering off on Saturday evening.
My previous forecast on Monday morning called for 2-6 inches but the latest trends will push that down to 1-4 inches from Friday night through Saturday along the I-70 mountain corridor.
This will turn all road surfaces from areas west of Idaho Springs through Eagle-Vail over to an icy and slushy mix, with snow-packed surfaces possible for a short time along Berthoud, Loveland, and Vail Pass. The road surfaces will improve during the day on Saturday but keep an eye on CDOT for road closures due to accidents.
CDOT Alerts → http://opsw.co/cdotalerts
Please make sure your vehicle is prepared with snow tires or mud/snow tires if you're traveling from late Friday night through Saturday. Remember, the Night King and CDOT will be on the lookout for vehicles not prepared for winter driving conditions.
Extended Forecast
Following Saturday's storm, we'll return to warm and dry conditions through next week and possibly the rest of October. Mid-mountain highs at Arapahoe Basin and Loveland will be in the low-to-mid 40s, with overnight lows in the high teens to low 20s.
I know many of you (myself included) are itching for powder days but winter is coming and they'll be plenty to go around!
SAM COLLENTINE
Announcements
I-70 Forecast Page → https://opensnow.com/region/denveri70
NOAA Winter Outlook
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center released their 2017-2018 winter outlook and I posted all of the details here: http://opsw.co/os_1718noaa
Season Pass Guides
Epic Pass: http://opsw.co/os_epicpassguide
Mountain Collective: http://opsw.co/os_collectiveguide
Rocky Mountain Super Pass: http://opsw.co/os_rmspguide
Snow Tires
Make sure your vehicle is prepared for winter driving conditions. I highly recommend snow tires if you're driving along the mountain corridor from now through May. This is not only for your own safety and peace of mind but for the safety of others. Find all CDOT passenger vehicle traction and chain laws here: http://opsw.co/2fdJDM1