More than two feet of snow is forecast for Colorado’s highest peaks by Thursday morning, triggering winter storm warnings and avalanche watches, according to the National Weather Service.
This week’s snowstorm will bring the season’s “most dangerous avalanche conditions,” according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. The agency ranks danger from one, low, to five, extreme, based on the expected size, likelihood and distribution of avalanches.
High and extreme avalanche danger is forecast for Colorado’s backcountry from Tuesday to Friday, according to the information center. The avalanches will be large enough to seriously injure or kill a person, officials said.
Natural avalanches will be likely, and human-triggered avalanches very likely, in parts of the Park Range, Elk, West Elk and San Juan mountain ranges, according to a news release from the information center.
Backcountry travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended in areas with high or extreme avalanche danger, officials said in the news release.
“This week’s avalanche danger is being driven by heavy snowfall and strong southwest winds gusting up to 70 mph, which will create widespread blowing and drifting snow,” information center officials stated. “Wind-drifted snow will rapidly load an already weak snowpack, increasing the likelihood of large and destructive avalanches.”
An avalanche watch will be in effect for the four mountain ranges from 9 a.m. Wednesday to 5 p.m. Friday, according to the weather service. The Elk and West Elk mountains will see avalanche danger start as early as Tuesday morning, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
The Gore, Elk, Flat Tops and Park mountain ranges will also be under a winter storm warning from 11 p.m. Monday to 5 a.m. Thursday, though snow is expected to continue into the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
The weather service issued a separate winter weather advisory for Jackson, Larimer, Grand, Boulder, Gilpin, Clear Creek, Summit and Park counties from 2 a.m. Tuesday to 11 p.m. Wednesday.
Up to 70 mph winds are forecast during that time on Colorado’s mountain passes, according to the advisory. Blowing snow will reduce visibility and may create hazardous, white-out conditions.
As of Monday afternoon, weather service meteorologists expected the following snowfall amounts to accumulate by 5 a.m. Thursday:
3 inches in Estes Park, with up to 4 inches possible
6 inches in Eldora, with up to 7 inches possible
7 inches in Breckenridge and Winter Park, with up to 9 inches possible
7 inches at the Keystone Ski Area Summit, with up to 10 inches possible
10 inches on U.S. 6’s Loveland Pass and U.S. 40’s Berthoud Pass near Winter Park, with up to 12 inches possible
10 inches on Interstate 70’s Vail Pass, with up to 13 inches possible
11 inches on Colorado 9’s Hoosier Pass near Breckenridge, with up to 13 inches possible
12 inches on Colorado 125’s Willow Creek Pass near Granby, with up to 14 inches possible
13 inches on U.S. 40’s Muddy Pass near Kremmling, with up to 16 inches possible
14 inches and U.S. 34’s Milner Pass in Rocky Mountain National Park, with up to 17 inches possible
16 inches at Bear Lake in RMNP and on Colorado 14’s Cameron Pass near Fort Collins, with up to 19 inches possible
28 inches on Mount Zirkel, the highest summit in the Park Range of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, with up to 34 inches possible
Traces of snow are forecast for the Denver area between Wednesday and Thursday, but daytime temperatures in the 50s and 40s mean any snowfall is unlikely to stick, according to weather service forecasters.
Mountain snow will fall Monday night through Saturday evening, but the strongest waves of heavy snow are expected in the afternoon on Tuesday and Wednesday, forecasters said.
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