Mountain pass lanes, ski gondola closed amid whiteout conditions
UPDATE: I-70 lanes have reopened at Vail Pass
I-70 eastbound remains CLOSED Unsafe driving conditions creating a the safety closure at Vail. #cowx #cotraffic pic.twitter.com/mBnOkCKD8k — CSP Eagle (@CSP_Eagle) February 24, 2020
BREAKING UPDATE: A snow squall has appeared impacting parts of El Paso and Teller Counties, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a warning about “dangerous life-threatening travel” conditions. Read more here.
As a winter storm blows through Colorado’s ski country, travel has become quite difficult in some parts of the state.
According to Colorado State Patrol, Vail Pass eastbound lanes have closed due to whiteout conditions. Blowing snow is making visibility extremely limited. An estimated time of reopening has not been released.
Aspen Mountain has also put a temporary closure on their gondola due to high wind speeds. This closure will reportedly last until at least 10 AM. According to Weather.com, wind speeds in Aspen are around 18 miles per hour with stronger gusts.
Aspen Mountain gondola closed until at least 10a because of wind storm. Lots of crazy #cowx to start the week. 4-8 inches in #aspen area by Tuesday morning. pic.twitter.com/YH095sW3sl — David Krause (@DavidKrause) February 24, 2020
Here’s another look at how difficult it is to see on I-70. The tweet was posted at 9:14 AM.
I-70 MOUNTAIN CORRIDOR TRAVEL ALERT: High winds on the I-70 corridor are creating very low visibility conditions. Plan for blowing snow, safety closures and check https://t.co/bjBVfjLWOG. #cowx pic.twitter.com/FSwM6BCAhN — CDOT (@ColoradoDOT) February 24, 2020
US 285 closed Monday in both directions due to adverse weather, with no estimated time of reopening. A safety closure is also in place for US 6 over Loveland Pass between mile markers 222 to 228.7.
Sunday’s snowstorm brought more than a foot of snow to some of Colorado’s highest peaks. Breckenridge reported that 13 inches fell during a 24 hour period. More snow is expected to fall through Tuesday, with 8+ inches possible in the northern mountains.