The National Weather Service doesn’t predict more snow for Denver in the next few days. But with the temperature expected to top out at 32 degrees Sunday and snow already on the ground, there is a chance Christmas morning could dawn bright, cold and white.
“We won’t be getting any snow today,” said Bob Kleyla, of the weather service in Boulder. “Places that are sheltered will still be covered. Whether it will still go down as a white Christmas is hard to say. Snow depth at (Denver International Airport) is 2 inches, but it will be sunny today.”
It is a different story in the mountains where scores of motorists were stuck on Interstate 70 around the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels — which lost power — on Saturday night as a winter storm pounded the state.
The Colorado Department of Transportation and State Patrol urged people to stay away from the icy, wind-swept interstate as they worked to clear crashes and roadway slide-offs and mitigate problem spots. CDOT said visibility in some areas was as bad as 5 feet.
Interstate 70 closed in both directions approaching the tunnel Saturday afternoon. It reopened about midnight, said Mike Murray, a CDOT spokesman. The power outage was weather-related, according to Xcel Energy.
Emergency equipment was brought into clear the road of accidents and stretches of the interstate that had been closed had to be re-plowed, Murray said.
On Sunday morning, Murray said, “the roads are not doing too bad. But it’s still icy and snow-packed up there.”
More snow is expected in the mountains beginning Sunday evening. In Steamboat Springs, for example, 7 to 11 inches are possible, and an additional 5 to 9 inches is expected on Christmas.
In Georgetown, 1 to 3 inches are possible Sunday evening, and an additional 2 to 4 inches are expected Monday.
