Winter storm warning issued as Vail, Beaver Creek could see another foot of snow

After a two-day storm that dropped 15 inches of new snow on Vail and Beaver Creek through Christmas Eve, a winter storm warning was issued on Christmas Day for the Eagle River Valley starting early Sunday morning, with up to another foot of new snow in the forecast.

Expect hazardous mountain driving conditions, which can be monitored on the Colorado Department of Transportation website, and check avalanche conditions on the Colorado Avalanche Information Center website before heading into the backcountry this coming week. On Christmas Day there was an avalanche watch in place for the Vail and Summit County areas.

Here’s the winter storm warning for Sunday:

ELKHEAD AND PARK MOUNTAINS-GORE AND ELK MOUNTAINS/CENTRAL MOUNTAIN VALLEYS-FLAT TOPS, INCLUDING THE CITIES OF COLUMBINE, HAHNS PEAK, TOPONAS, ASPEN, VAIL, SNOWMASS, BUFORD, AND TRAPPERS LAKE

259 PM MST SAT DEC 25 2021

…WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 2 AM SUNDAY TO 5 AM MST MONDAY…

* WHAT…MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOWFALL AND VERY STRONG WINDS EXPECTED. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 12 INCHES WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS ABOVE 10000 FEET. WINDS 55 TO 65 MPH AND LIKELY HIGHER ABOVE 12000 FEET. 

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

* WHEN…FROM 2 AM SUNDAY TO 5 AM MST MONDAY.

* IMPACTS…TRAVEL WILL BE VERY DIFFICULT AT TIMES DUE TO WIDESPREAD BLOWING SNOW SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCING VISIBILITY. 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. 

THE LATEST ROAD CONDITIONS FOR THE STATE YOU ARE CALLING FROM CAN BE OBTAINED BY CALLING 5 1 1