Two feet in the last week, and a whole bunch more snow headed Vail’s way

Mountain of the Holy Cross from Vail’s Back Bowls (Vail Resorts Facebook photo).

Vail and Beaver Creek have been pounded with 2 feet of fresh snow in the last week, and a whole bunch more is headed our way over the next week, according to forecasters.

“We still have a below-average snowpack, but pictures from Thursday tell a different story with fluffy face shots in the south and the north, and the forecast is for snow for the next four days,” meteorologist Joel Gratz of Opensnow.com wrote on Friday morning.

“Friday and Saturday will bring some snow and a LOT of wind and cold. Sunday and Monday will bring a LOT of snow and less wind and cold. Then we could see more snow on Wednesday and Thursday,” Gratz added. “Let’s do this!”

The National Weather Service issued the following Winter Storm Watch for Vail and the surrounding area Friday afternoon:

ELKHEAD AND PARK MOUNTAINS-
GORE AND ELK MOUNTAINS/CENTRAL MOUNTAIN VALLEYS-
WEST ELK AND SAWATCH MOUNTAINS-FLAT TOPS-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF COLUMBINE, HAHNS PEAK, TOPONAS, ASPEN, VAIL, SNOWMASS, CRESTED BUTTE, TAYLOR PARK, MARBLE, BUFORD, AND TRAPPERS LAKE
247 PM MST FRI JAN 12 2024

…WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM MST SATURDAY…

…WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY EVENING THROUGH MONDAY EVENING…

* WHAT…FOR THE WINTER STORM WARNING, HEAVY SNOW AND SIGNIFICANT BLOWING SNOW. ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS. WINDS GUSTING AS HIGH AS 65 MPH, MAINLY ABOVE 10000 FEET. FOR THE WINTER STORM WATCH, HEAVY SNOW POSSIBLE. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 2 FEET WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS UP TO 3 FEET POSSIBLE. WINDS COULD GUST AS HIGH

AS 50 MPH.

* WHERE…ELKHEAD AND PARK MOUNTAINS, GORE AND ELK MOUNTAINS/CENTRAL MOUNTAIN VALLEYS, WEST ELK AND SAWATCH MOUNTAINS AND FLAT TOPS.

* WHEN…FOR THE WINTER STORM WARNING, UNTIL 5 PM MST SATURDAY.
FOR THE WINTER STORM WATCH, FROM SATURDAY EVENING THROUGH MONDAY EVENING.

* IMPACTS…TRAVEL COULD BE VERY DIFFICULT TO IMPOSSIBLE. WIDESPREAD BLOWING SNOW COULD SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE VISIBILITY, ESPECIALLY ON RIDGE TOPS. THE COLD WIND CHILLS AS LOW AS 30 BELOW ZERO COULD CAUSE FROSTBITE ON EXPOSED SKIN IN AS LITTLE AS 30 MINUTES. A DETAILED MAP OF THE SNOWFALL CAN BE FOUND AT: WWW.WEATHER.GOV/GJT/WINTER.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

IF YOU MUST TRAVEL, KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT, FOOD, AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.

MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS FOR UPDATES ON THIS SITUATION.

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