Snowstorm triggers winter weather advisory that warns of ‘hazardous travel’ coming to Summit County and Colorado’s mountains

Between 5-11 inches of snow could fall by 6 a.m. Saturday, according to a winter weather advisory issued by the National Weather Service.

Winds could gust as high as 50 mph during the storm during the timeframe of the advisory, which runs from 2 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday. The advisory covers Rocky Mountain National Park, the Medicine Bow Range, the mountains of Summit County, the Mosquito Range and the Indian Peaks Wilderness.

“Roads will be slick, resulting in slow and hazardous travel,” the advisory states. “Allow extra time to reach your destination.

“By Friday afternoon, there could be 2-5 inches of new snow for some areas, especially across the southern and central mountains, so conditions could get softer throughout the day,” OpenSnow founder and lead meteorologist Joel Gratz wrote in an update Thursday. “On Friday night, the storm will deliver moderate to intense snow, with the deeper accumulations shifting north to focus more on the northern and central mountains. The combination of adequate moisture, strong storm energy (vorticity), and the jet stream overhead should produce another 4-8 inches of snow on Friday night.”