DENVER—More than a foot of snow fell on Colorado’s mountains, where winds up to 75 mph briefly shut down parts of the state’s major east-west route through Denver, delayed flights, and downed power lines Tuesday.
Strong wind was recorded along the eastern side of the Rockies, including near the foothills west and north of Denver, according to the National Weather Service. Arrivals and departures were delayed at Denver International Airport.
Gusts that reached up to 60 mph in Boulder damaged a covering over a tennis court at a hotel and downed power lines, starting a small brush fire at a school. Fire officials said other small fires were sparked by power lines hitting each other and trees were toppled.
Vail Pass on Interstate 70 was closed for about two hours due to the weather and multiple accidents, causing traffic to back up. The Loveland and Independence passes were also closed for a second day.
About 18.5 inches of snow fell at the Eisenhower Tunnel on the road west of Denver, said Frank Benton, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boulder. Weather spotters reported 19 inches near Silverthorne in Summit County.
Both sides of I-70 between the tunnel and Silverthorne will be closed in stages early Wednesday so crews can clear snow from lanes that have been closed for construction. Eastbound traffic will be detoured off the highway from 1 to 3 a.m., followed by westbound traffic from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m.
Snow was expected through Wednesday morning, thanks to “a very strong” upper-level jet stream, said Benton.
The snow was welcomed in ski country, after a warm start to October.
“My assistant director and I were joking that someone hit the snow switch,” said Craig Simson, ski patrol director at Keystone Resort. “I’m not sure where it is. I wish I knew, but someone found it and hit it right on the button.”
The only two ski resorts open so far in Colorado benefited from the wave of storms. Arapahoe Basin, which opened Monday, reported 8 inches of new snow, while Loveland Ski Area, which opened Sunday, said it has received 12 inches of new snow.
“I woke up excited,” said Viceroy Snowmass hotel group sales employee Brian Mordecai from Snowmass Village. The Snowmass ski area reported 9 inches of snow overnight, though there wasn’t that much on Mordecai’s car Tuesday morning.
“It wasn’t as much accumulation as I was hoping for, but that’s OK,” he said. “I was hoping for 4 to 6 inches on top of my car.”
Snowmass opens for the season Nov. 25.
At Keystone, snow was melting on the bottom of Simson’s pants. “According to my pants, I walked through about 10 inches to get from my car to my office,” he said.
Temperatures were cold enough that the resort planned to run its snowmaking guns all night Tuesday to add to the natural flakes that were the size of a half-dollar at times, he said. The resort opens Nov. 5.
