CDOT Issues Winter Travel Alert as Spring Storm Targets Colorado Mountain Corridors

Colorado's first significant spring storm in weeks rolled into the mountains on the night of Thursday, March 5, ending what the Colorado Department of Transportation described as "an extended stretch of dry conditions" and triggering a statewide Winter Travel Alert that put mountain travelers on notice ahead of a punishing Friday.

A developing trough west of Colorado drove the system, delivering what CDOT called "a healthy burst of snow through Friday before weakening Saturday morning." The cold front rapidly expanded snowfall across the mountains and valleys Friday morning, with lighter showers lingering into Saturday south of Interstate 70. Storm totals reached up to 8 to 12 inches, with the Northern Mountains near the Continental Divide seeing the heaviest accumulations and the Central Mountains from the Divide down through the foothills also absorbing substantial snowfall.

The I-70 Mountain Corridor bore the brunt of the travel disruption. Icy and snow-packed conditions blanketed passes adjacent to the interstate and the approach to the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels through much of Friday, March 6. Snowfall shifted south of I-70 Friday night, but weekend ski traffic faced continued impacts from the foothills through Vail Pass, with residual effects possible Saturday morning. Berthoud Pass on US 40 was also flagged as a corridor of concern.

Chain and traction laws were the sharpest edge of CDOT's warning. The agency stated plainly that "failure to follow Colorado's chain and traction laws is a leading cause of delays, safety closures and crashes during winter weather events," and emphasized that its main concern was ensuring all drivers, especially commercial motor vehicles, chained up when the law went into effect. Traction laws require vehicles to have adequate traction equipment such as all-wheel or four-wheel drive, or to run chains or approved traction devices. Motorists were warned the laws could be activated along the I-70 Mountain Corridor and other affected highways at any point during the storm.

For skiers and riders already planning weekend trips, CDOT pushed transit as the smarter play, specifically naming Bustang, Snowstang and Pegasus as alternatives to driving into the thick of it. Those who had to drive were directed to COtrip.org for real-time traction-law status and road conditions, told to allow extra travel time, and reminded never to drive around a CDOT closure gate.

Lower elevations along the Front Range experienced a rain-to-snow transition early Friday morning. Warmer pavement kept roads mainly wet during the early urban commute, but foothill communities and higher terrain south of the Denver area contended with slushy and slick conditions as heavier snowfall moved through.

CDOT also advised drivers to carry a basic emergency kit stocked with blankets, food, water, a flashlight, phone chargers and windshield washer fluid. With the trough weakening by Saturday morning and lighter showers tapering south of I-70, the storm's most aggressive window ran roughly 36 hours, but the combination of spring-softened road crews, unexpected accumulation depths and high weekend traffic volumes made it one of the season's more consequential weather events on Colorado's mountain corridors.