Up to 18 inches of snow is forecast above 10,000 feet under winter storm warnings from the National Weather Service, with the first warning beginning at 8 a.m. ET Sunday and gusts reaching 50 mph. Forecasters say travel could become very difficult to impossible in blowing and drifting snow, and the warnings hold until 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. ET Monday, past the Monday morning commute.
Snow Totals And Timing
The NWS Grand Junction winter storm warning for the northwest and southwest San Juan Mountains is already in effect and runs until 2 p.m. ET Monday. It calls for 12 to 18 inches above 10,000 feet, with locally higher amounts and gusts to 45 mph. The office upgraded it from a winter storm watch on Saturday morning. Telluride, Ouray, Silverton, Lake City, Rico and Hesperus are inside it, along with Red Mountain, Molas, Coal Bank and Lizard Head passes.
Farther east, NWS Pueblo has the eastern San Juan Mountains above 10,000 feet under a warning from 7 p.m. ET Sunday to 1 p.m. ET Monday, covering Wolf Creek Pass and Cumbres Pass. It forecasts 8 to 14 inches and the strongest wind of the storm, with gusts to 50 mph that could produce areas of blowing and drifting snow. Pueblo expects the worst travel Sunday night and Monday morning.
Colorado is not the only state on the alert map this weekend. NWS offices also have winter alerts posted in Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada and California, including a winter storm warning for the Ruby Mountains in Nevada.
Driving Down Wolf Creek Pass: Low Gear On A 7 Percent, 8-Mile Grade
Wolf Creek Pass carries US 160 over the eastern San Juans. According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, the road drops at a 7 percent grade for more than eight miles from the summit, with a hairpin curve six and a half miles down and two runaway truck ramps along the way.
CDOT’s Wolf Creek guidance for truck drivers advises checking the brakes before descending, maintaining a low speed in a low gear, and not riding the brakes, which can cause overheating. The summit’s wide shoulder doubles as a chain-up area for traffic in both directions.
Related: Honda Odyssey Has a Snow Mode, but Can It Really Replace AWD?
Red Mountain Pass: Avalanche Control Means Road Closures
On US 550, Red Mountain Pass runs below avalanche terrain. In 2023 CDOT installed remote avalanche control systems at slide paths on the pass, two Gazex units and three O’bellx units that use compressed air and gases to trigger controlled avalanches above the road while it is closed. CDOT says crews can run that work in the early morning, before commuter traffic builds, and that the systems shorten closures.
Across the state, CDOT and the Colorado Avalanche Information Center monitor 522 avalanche paths above state highways and I-70, with active mitigation on 278 of them. Colorado’s road conditions are on COtrip and through 511.
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