DILLON — One of this winter’s fiercest storms is hammering the Colorado Rockies, and the snow isn’t expected to stop anytime soon.
The eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 are closed throughout the mountain corridor from Dotsero west of Vail to Silverthrone on Friday morning. The westbound lanes are closed at Herman Gulch, 3 miles east of the Eisenhower/Johnson Memorial Tunnels, for avalanche control. “Extensive” closures for avalanche mitigation are expected throughout the morning and afternoon, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
“Travelers heading to the mountains this morning will see multihour waits as crews blast avalanche paths and remove the resulting debris,” according to a post by CDOT. “It is strongly advised that traffic wait in Denver or other locations until the roadway has officially reopened.”
A winter storm warning remains in effect across the central and northern mountains of Colorado through midnight Friday. The storm is expected to drop an additional 8-18 inches of snow. Wind gusts of up to 65 mph are expected to cause blowing snow and reduced visibility, making travel difficult.
All Summit County ski areas are measuring their snow totals in the double digits this morning, with Breckenridge Ski Resort racking up 19 inches, most of it falling over night. Copper Mountain Resort is reporting 17 inches, Arapahoe Basin Ski Area is reporting 14 inches, and Keystone Resort got 11 inches.
“With snowfall rates of 1+ inch per hour, these 5 am Friday estimates might be much lower than what you find on the hill,” meteorologist Joel Gratz wrote in his OpenSnow blog. “Also, winds are very strong, so expect to find some areas with little snow and some areas with a lot more than this.”
Summit School District announced Thursday night that school would be canceled for the day Friday to protect the safety of students and staff.