Winter Storm Warning: Up to 35 Inches of Snow and 50 MPH Gusts Threaten Both I-25 and I-70 Across Colorado Through Friday

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[UPDATED — MAY 1] The overnight window this article warned about — the one where wet pavement at 7,500 feet turns to ice by sunrise — is happening right now. Conditions across the I-70 mountain corridor are severe on every major segment. Raton Pass is in its worst hour of the entire event. The warnings that were forecast are now active road closures, traction laws, and school cancellations. Here is the current status by corridor.

Forecast totals for the Pikes Peak summit reach as much as 35 inches over three days, though the official Winter Storm Warning for the broader Rampart Range zone covers 8 to 16 inches.

Late April normally means the snow tires come off. This week, southern Colorado and northern New Mexico get the opposite, and the timing is awkward in a specific way. The storm hits the higher elevations first, then the snow level drops to 7,500 feet by Friday morning behind a cold front. Roads that look wet at 6 p.m. Thursday could well be fresh ice by sunrise.

If you're crossing I-25 at Raton Pass, the I-70 ski corridor, or any of the southern Colorado mountain passes, avoid the overnight window Thursday into Friday — that's when conditions will be at their worst. Leave Thursday afternoon to get ahead of it, or hold off until Saturday. Everything else is secondary. 

I-25 and Raton Pass

[UPDATED — MAY 1]This corridor is in its worst window right now.

If you're driving I-25 between Trinidad and Raton tonight, the question isn't really whether the road gets bad, it's when. Raton Pass sits at 7,834 feet, and the snow level is forecast to drop to exactly that elevation by Friday morning. So the transition from rain into accumulating snow lands somewhere in the small hours, on the most important freight corridor between Denver and Albuquerque.

NWS Albuquerque has the warning running from 3 p.m. Thursday through midnight MDT Friday. 2 to 8 inches between 7,500 and 9,500 feet, 8 to 14 inches above. They're explicit about chains being likely necessary, which is unusual for late-April language out of that office and is worth taking seriously. The same alert covers the Sangre de Cristos on the New Mexico side and the Johnson and Bartlett Mesas, so US-64 east of Taos is in the same forecast.

I-70 Mountain Corridor: Eisenhower Tunnel, Berthoud Pass, and the Ski Areas

[UPDATED — MAY 1]CDOT road surface data confirms severe conditions across every segment of the I-70 high country:

• Eagle to Vail:SEVERE — snow and ice on roadway, icy spots

• Vail to Vail Pass:SEVERE — snow and ice, icy spots, traction warning active

• Vail Pass to Copper Mountain:SEVERE — slush on roadway; traction law in effect between Exit 203 (Silverthorne) and Exit 221 (Bakerville); AWD/4WD must have winter or M+S tires with at least 3/16-inch tread; 2WD requires chains or approved traction device

• Copper Mountain to Silverthorne:SEVERE — snow and ice on roadway; road grip at just 31%

• Silverthorne to Eisenhower Tunnel approach:SEVERE — slush on roadway; road grip at 26%

That 26% grip figure near the tunnel approach is the number to focus on, as normal dry pavement is 100%. This is the overnight minimum. Earlier this evening, westbound I-70 was temporarily closed at the Morrison exit due to a crash on Lookout Mountain — it has since reopened, but it's a direct signal of what the road surface is doing to traffic even at the lower-elevation approaches.

The I-70 corridor and Rocky Mountain National Park advisory expires at 6 AM this morning. That's the earliest any relief arrives. Conditions between now and then are at their worst.

This is closing weekend at Arapahoe Basin, so whatever else is happening with the storm, that's the context for the I-70 traffic this week. Full lots, full lifts, and a lot of vehicles moving west out of Denver who have already committed to the trip.

NWS Boulder has the entire mountain corridor under Winter Weather Advisory through 6 a.m. Friday, with 5 to 13 inches expected and the heaviest amounts in the Front Range Mountains south of I-70 and the Mosquito Range. Eisenhower Tunnel at 11,158 feet is the usual choke point and will be again. Berthoud Pass on US-40, the alternate route to Winter Park, runs higher and gets there first.

Rocky Mountain National Park is fully inside the advisory zone, which is its own headline given the spring opening calendar. The named locations in the bulletin read like a Colorado ski-area itinerary. Breckenridge, Winter Park, Fairplay, South Park, Cameron Pass, Willow Creek Pass, Lake George, Mount Blue Sky, the Indian Peaks, the Medicine Bow Range, the East Slopes of the Southern Gore Range. NWS Boulder calls out the Thursday evening commute specifically. That's the window where the conditions and the volume of traffic collide.

The picture extends further south through NWS Grand Junction , which has Winter Storm Warnings across the San Juans (Telluride, Pagosa Springs, Wolf Creek Pass) and advisories around Aspen and Vail Pass.

Sangre de Cristo and the Wet Mountains

[UPDATED — MAY 1]These zones now carry the longest active warnings of any region in this event — running through midnight Saturday, May 2. Both the Northern and Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains at all elevations, and the Wet Mountains from 6,300 feet to their peaks, remain under Winter Storm Warning for another 44-plus hours. La Veta Pass and Poncha Pass will remain difficult well into Friday afternoon. This is not a storm that ends at sunrise for southern Colorado.

La Veta Pass on US-160 is the only sensible way from I-25 at Walsenburg into Alamosa and the San Luis Valley if you don't want to go all the way up through Salida. Poncha Pass on US-285 is the alternative, and it isn't much better. Both are inside the NWS Pueblo Winter Storm Warning that covers the Sangre de Cristos and Wet Mountains through midnight MDT Friday. 8 to 16 inches across the range, concentrated on the east-facing slopes.

Down in Westcliffe and Silver Cliff, the Wet Mountain Valley itself sits below 8,500 feet and runs a separate advisory through Friday noon for 3 to 7 inches, with more on the eastern side as you climb back toward the higher terrain.

Pikes Peak and Colorado Springs

[UPDATED — MAY 1]The Winter Storm Warning for Teller County and the Rampart Range expires at noon today — roughly 8 hours from now. Additional snow accumulations of 5 to 10 inches are expected on east-facing slopes before conditions improve. Roads in Teller County are described as wet, slushy, and snowpacked, with hazardous conditions expected to continue through the Friday morning commute. US-24 between Colorado Springs and Woodland Park remains the primary impact corridor for drivers.

The official Winter Storm Warning for Teller County and the Rampart Range matches the Sangre de Cristos at 8 to 16 inches, holding until noon MDT Friday. Point forecasts for the summit of Pikes Peak itself, above 14,000 feet, run as high as 35 inches over three days.

Front Range Foothills, Boulder, Denver

[UPDATED — MAY 1]School closures and delays are spreading. Douglas County School District has cancelled all Friday classes. Colorado School of Mines is on a 2-hour delayed start with all classes before 10 AM cancelled. Multiple other Front Range schools are operating on 1 to 2 hour delays. Denver7 is tracking 20 active weather alerts across the region as of this hour — significantly more than the 7 showing yesterday afternoon, reflecting overnight intensification and the addition of freeze warnings across multiple river basins. The Friday morning commute across the metro will be slow and slick. Denver7's chief meteorologist has described it as a "slow and slick commute" with clearing expected from north to south through the morning.

The Boulder advisory zone reaches well east of the high peaks. The Front Range Foothills from Fort Collins down through Boulder and Castle Rock all sit on the edge of the advisory, with Denver metro itself right at the boundary. The Thursday evening commute is the affected window, and anyone heading west out of Denver toward the ski areas climbs straight into the worst of it within thirty minutes.

Mosquito Range and CO-91

[UPDATED — MAY 1]The advisory for the Western Mosquito Range and eastern Lake, Chaffee, and Fremont counties runs until noon today, with additional snow accumulations of 4 to 8 inches on top of what has already fallen. CO-91 over Fremont Pass, between Copper Mountain and Leadville, is under mountain-pass conditions at both ends.

A Pueblo advisory covers the Western Mosquito Range and the higher elevations of Lake, Chaffee, and Fremont counties, including Climax. CO-91 over Fremont Pass, between Copper Mountain and Leadville, sits in the middle of it. 5 to 10 inches through Friday noon.

What's Not in This Storm

The northern edge stays out of southern Wyoming. NWS Cheyenne has nothing more than a Special Weather Statement around Medicine Bow, so I-25 north of the state line and I-80 across southern Wyoming are clear. South of Raton, the same low-pressure system is producing rain rather than snow across the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles. NWS Amarillo is calling for half an inch or more around Amarillo and Hereford. Useful context for I-40, but not a winter-driving story. Freeze Warnings in parts of Utah and southeastern Idaho cover overnight cold, not snow on the roads.

When It Ends — And What Comes Next

[UPDATED — MAY 1]Here is the current expiration timeline for active alerts:

Before You Drive

[UPDATED — MAY 1]Do not be on Raton Pass, La Veta Pass, or anywhere on the I-70 high country right now unless you have no choice. The Friday morning commute across the Denver metro will be slow. Conditions begin improving from north to south through the morning. Friday afternoon, most mountain zones clear. Saturday is the safe window.

• Colorado road conditions: cotrip.org or call 511

• New Mexico road conditions: nmroads.com

• Chains belong in the vehicle if you are crossing Raton, La Veta, Poncha, Wolf Creek, Eisenhower, Berthoud, or Vail Pass before 6 AM

• Bridges and overpasses at the 7,500-foot threshold are icing faster than the surrounding pavement — the snow level the cold front just pushed the storm down to

The overnight window is the part that takes some thought. Friday afternoon most of this clears.

This story was originally published by Autoblog on Apr 30, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Autoblog as a Preferred Source by clicking here.