This past weekend was the busiest of ski season on the I-70 mountain corridor, and the busiest ski season weekend in nearly a year.
141,160 vehicles passed through the Eisenhower-Johnson tunnels Friday, Feb. 28 into Sunday, March 2, up about 2% from the previous weekend (137,915 vehicles).
Sunday at 11 a.m. was the busiest hour at the tunnels (4,465 vehicles) in more than five months, since the exact same time on Sunday, Sept. 29 (4,684 vehicles).
This caps off the busiest month of ski season with 513,905 vehicles in 12 days, down just slightly from February last year (522,510 vehicles).
Incoming blizzard
A 10-day dry spell is about to end in a 24-hour flurry of snow, cold and wind.
Forecasters predict a nasty winter storm blowing through Summit and most of the High Country starting 3 p.m. today. Winds will be gusting up to 60 miles per hour.
Snow totals are all over the map, from 8 to 16 inches in Summit County, but this storm is getting beefier as it gets closer. Earlier today the prediction was 2 to 14 inches.
Forecast is deepest for the Continental Divide. Loveland and Arapahoe Basin should be primed for storm skiing Tuesday and leftover powder on Wednesday.
A word to the wise from the National Weather Service: “Snow- and ice-covered roads will make travel hazardous, with the possibility of very difficult travel … consider altering travel plans.”
This storm also comes with a special avalanche watch. Forecasters call it “potent,” saying large and dangerous avalanches will be easy to trigger through Tuesday at least.