WESTERN SLOPE, Colo. (KREX) - National Weather Service meteorologist Kate Abbott says, “The heaviest snowfall will happen today. we'll have a little bit of a lull in the accumulation overnight, with some more snowfall, especially in the mountains tomorrow, and then we have another new weather system set to come in on Sunday that could bring some snow.”
Abbott says the Grand Valley received zero to six inches of snow and with this fresh powder there can be danger to your travels.
Austyn Dineen, the I-70 mountain corridor communications manager with the Colorado Department of Transportation, states, “When a crash happens and we have to clear out, that makes the roads more challenging after that.”
Western Slope Now spoke with Dineen on how CDOT is looking to make I-70 through Colorado as safe as possible despite the storm coming through.
Dineen states, “CDOT mobilizes plows and starts from the storm, but may also put down a layer of de-icer once the storm starts to fall, to help prevent precipitation from freezing on the roadway surfaces.”
Dineen also tells WesternSlopeNow with the COTripPlanner app or website, there are active updates of road conditions, along with where plows are deicing the road conditions.
Brian Lazar, deputy director with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, states, “I can't emphasize enough right now that going and poking around without checking the avalanche forecast is a very risky proposition.”
WesternSlopeNow spoke with deputy director Brian Lazar from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center and he says there is a high danger of avalanches on the Western Slope.
“For this weekend in particular, it's important to emphasize that we are entering we're in a period of very high avalanche danger. We have avalanche warnings in place across most of the western mountains in Colorado,” Lazar said.
Lazar says the CAIC recommends for people to not recreate or travel in the backcountry due to the high avalanche danger.
While the snow can pose danger, on the flip side it's positive to our local ski resorts.
Ryan Robinson, the assistant general manager and director of marketing and sales at Powderhorn Mountain resort, states, “This is our favorite kind of weather. It's all smiles up here. we've had a foot of snow in the last three days, and it's been coming down all day today.”
Robinson tells WesternSlopeNowwith all of this snow it is a bonus to the number of weekend visitors and it will help the basin of the resort.
Robinson states, “Snow boosts visitation. People want to go skiing when it snows, but we've been lucky enough to have great skiing conditions through the recent warm, dry spell.”