A winter storm has closed I-70 in both directions from Idaho Springs to Vail. The same cold front is bringing gusty winds, rain and some flakes to the Denver metro area.
The wind is causing whiteout conditions in the mountains. “It really turned into a mess in the last hour,” said Brian Jordon of the Colorado Department of Transportation on 9News at 4 p.m.
Berthoud Pass is closed due to a snow slide, said Jordan. U.S. 6 over Loveland Pass is also closed. The Red Cross has begun setting up shelters for stranded mountain travellers.
More than a foot of snow is forecast for parts of the high country. About a dozen counties are under a winter storm warning.
Summit County ski resorts are already building up their bases. Breckenridge and Keystone got two feet of snow at mid mountain and Vail piled up 29 inches over the weekend. Vail opens for the season this Friday.
A dozen counties, from Denver to Boulder to Fort Collins and further east, are under a high wind warning until 3 p.m. Tuesday.
9News meteorologist Marty Coniglio says areas over 6,000 feet in Douglas and Elbert County may have as much as two inches of snow stick to grassy areas. Coniglio says the storm is heading southeast and will have moved out of the Metro Area by 10 p.m. tonight.
