Warnings for heavy snow in the Colorado mountains

As we head into the first weekend of December a blast of heavy snow and strong winds will target the mountains and foothills of the state. Around the Denver metro area high temperatures will be chilly with a few more clouds and wind kicking up from time to time.

For the mountains there are several warnings and advisories in place through the weekend. Some areas may see 1 to 2 feet of snow by the time we get to Sunday night. There are Winter Storm Warnings posted for these areas in the pink shades of the map below. Other areas in the purple may see 5 to 10 inches of snow in some of the lower mountain spots. From Summit County up into the Winter Park area snow amounts may reach 8 to 20 inches over the weekend.

In addition to the snow, strong winds will be common across the mountains and foothills thru Sunday night. For the Northern Front Range Foothills sustained winds may rock 30 to 40 mph with some gusts 75 to 80 mph Saturday afternoon thru Sunday night.

There is also an Avalanche Watch posted late Saturday night thru Sunday night for the Park Range, Ruby Range and West Elk Mountains of western Colorado. The danger is very high in these spots. On a scale of 1 to 5 the danger is a 4. Large and dangerous avalanches will be easy to start. Travel in the backcountry is not recommended on Sunday.