Epic Colorado Snowstorm This Week

[Dencolo]

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/wxstory.php?site=gjt

Wow, up to 8' of snow forecast! It's not often the NWS actually uses the work "EPIC" to describe a storm. If anyone is headed to Colorado to ski over the Holidays, you are in for a blast! Bonus is it's a warmer system, so it won't even be that cold.

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
128 PM MST MON DEC 20 2010

...MAJOR WINTER STORM WILL BRING VERY HEAVY HEAVY SNOWFALL TO
EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO ABOVE 9000 FEET THROUGH
THURSDAY...

.HEAVY SNOWFALL OF EPIC PROPORTIONS WILL CONTINUE AND PROJECTIONS
INDICATE THAT THE STORM WILL LAST THROUGH THURSDAY. VERY MOIST
AND MILD SOUTHWEST TO WEST FLOW WILL BRING A PROLONGED PERIOD OF
HEAVY SNOW TO THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS OF EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN
COLORADO. HEAVY SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED ABOVE 9000 FEET
WITH THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS ON SOUTHWEST TO WEST FACING SLOPES.

POTENTIAL IMPACTS INCLUDE EXTENDED PERIODS OF ROAD CLOSURES...
INCLUDING PRIMARY AND SECONDARY ROADS. CITIES OR TOWNS THAT MAY
BE MOST VULNERABLE...WHERE ACCESS BECOMES LIMITED...INCLUDE
SILVERTON...CRESTED BUTTE...AND ON TOP OF THE GRAND MESA. THE
HIGHEST SNOW TOTALS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE GRAND MESA...THE ELK
AND SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS. IF YOU RESIDE IN THESE AREAS...CONSIDER
STOCKING UP ON NEEDED SUPPLIES FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. THESE AREAS
HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF SEEING EPIC SNOW ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY
REACH AS HIGH AS 6 TO 8 FEET BY TURSDAY AFTERNOON. EXPECTED SNOW
AMOUNTS BY ELEVATION IS AS FOLLOWS:

ABOVE 9000 FEET...3 TO 6 FEET OF TOTAL SNOWFALL BY THURSDAY
AFTERNOON WITH SOME AREAS REACHING 8 FEET. THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS
ARE EXPECTED OVER THE GRAND MESA AND THE AREAS SURROUNDING AND
INCLUDING CRESTED BUTTE. THE AVALANCHE HAZARD IN UNDEVELOPED
AREAS WILL BE ELEVATED THROUGH MUCH OF THE WEEK.

BETWEEN 8000 TO 9000 FEET...SNOW LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO LOWER TO
8000 FEET WITH RAIN CHANGING BACK TO SNOW. TOTAL SNOWFALL
ACCUMULATIONS WILL RANGE FROM 1 TO 3 FEET BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON.

FOR AREAS BELOW 8000 FEET...SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70...SNOW LEVELS
WILL DROP TO AS LOW AS 7000 FEET BY TONIGHT AND A RAIN AND SNOW
MIX IS EXPECTED AT THIS LEVEL. SNOW LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO RISE
ON TUESDAY. TOTAL SNOW AMOUNTS WILL BE MODEST WITH ACCUMULATIONS
OF 6 TO 12 INCHES BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON...BUT GREAT VARIABILITY
WILL OCCUR DEPENDING ON LOCATION AND SLOPE ASPECT AND HOW THE SNOW
LEVELS FLUCTUATE. NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70...SNOW LEVELS WILL DROP
TO THE VALLEY FLOORS AND ALLOW RAIN TO CHANGE OVER TO ALL SNOW.
THIS WILL RESULT IN HEAVY SNOWFALL ALONG HIGHWAY 40 FROM STEAMBOAT
SPRINGS COLORADO TO VERNAL UTAH. EXPECT WIDESPREAD ACCUMULATIONS
FROM 6 TO 12 INCHES ALONG THIS STRETCH OF HIGHWAY.

ONCE AGAIN...TRAVELING OVER THE MOUNTAIN PASSES WILL BECOME
NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE AT TIMES AS RELENTLESS HEAVY SNOW POUNDS THE
MOUNTAINS ABOVE 9000 FEET. PLAN ON ROAD CLOSURES AND HAVE
ALTERNATIVE PLANS IF THE MOUNTAIN PASSES DO NOT STAY OPEN

[Stephanie]

That is incredible!

[DFW Stormwatcher]

Only wish I was heading that way this year. Went to Ouray last December, it was beautiful. More snow than I've ever seen, the ice falls were pretty awesome as well.

[RideroftheStorm]

I can't imagine that driving in this snow would be any fun. However, I can see the tremendous amounts of snow being exceptionally helpful for skiing, sledding and so on. Now, if I actually KNEW how to ski, I would be all game for visiting Colorado. Alas, I don't ski and I don't have the funds to be going there. Still an interesting article! That must have been a heck of a storm for someone living there.