Watch CBS News

Christmas Wishes Granted In The Mountains With More Snow

By Ashton Altieri

DENVER (CBS4) - Another storm is taking aim at Colorado and promises to bring more snow to the mountains starting late Sunday night.

The storm is being transported into Colorado by fast moving northwest winds in the upper levels of the atmosphere. And since the wind is from the the northwest, it will create our well known "downslope" effect along the Front Range resulting in nothing but dry weather for the Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins areas as well as everyone on the Eastern Plains.

That being said, it will be sunny and chilly on Monday in the metro areas will high temperatures struggling to come close to freezing. Similar weather is expected on Tuesday followed by gradual warming trend starting Wednesday.

A Winter Storm Warning has been issued for the mountains west of Vail Pass as well as the mountains north and northwest of Winter Park from late Sunday night through Monday evening. These areas not only have the potential to see more than a foot of snow, they will also experience wind gusts over 40 mph especially above timberline causing considerable blowing and drifting snow over passes like Rabbit Ears Pass and Vail Pass.

Plan on very difficult travel in the high country for most of the day on Christmas. Road closures seem inevitable.

For the mountains of Summit County and the Winter Park area, a Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for the same time as the warning; late Sunday night through Monday evening. The difference for these areas will be accumulation which should be slightly less than the areas in the warning. The wind also shouldn't be as strong but will still be strong enough to cause blowing snow and limited visibility. The advisory includes ski areas such as Loveland, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Winter Park who should all see more than 6 inches of snow.

And finally, the threat of snow combined with wind has prompted a Blizzard Warning to be issued from 4 a.m. until 11 p.m. on Christmas Day for I-80 between  Laramie and Rawlins in Wyoming. Travel likely become impossible along the stretch and a road closure seems likely.

Ashton Altieri is a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist. Watch him on the CBS4 Morning News weekdays from 4:30 a.m. to 7 a.m. Connect with Ashton on Facebook and on Twitter @AshtonCBS4.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.