"Very difficult to impossible travel" expected in parts of Colorado with big snow incoming

A 'winter storm watch' has been issued in Colorado, and signs are pointing to this likely intensifying to become a 'winter storm warning' as the weekend hits.

The alert is currently active in southwest Colorado in an area that includes towns of Lake City, Ouray, Silverton, and Telluride, as well as in mountainous terrain around Durango and Pagosa Springs. As it currently stands, the watch warns that snow in the one-to-two-foot range is possible in this area above 9,000 feet of elevation, with the watch spanning from Friday morning into Sunday morning. Winds up to 45 miles per hour are also expected. That said, this alert for southwest Colorado also includes a note that as much as 40 inches could fall on some favored peaks, with other National Weather Service mapping showing the potential for even more accumulation in a 'high-end' snowfall scenario.

As noted in the alert related to this part of southwest Colorado, travel could become "very difficult to impossible" due to slick and hazardous conditions, as well as extremely limited visibility. Wolf Creek Pass has been listed as a key area that impacts are expected.

A similar winter weather watch is also underway in the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, with about nine to 16 inches possible above 11,000 feet.

To add a bit of context to what a 'winter weather watch' alert is, this is issued when certain winter weather conditions appear to be on the horizon for a given area. When the alert has 'watch' status, it means that these blizzard conditions are possible. This transitions to a 'warning' when conditions are actively occurring or imminent, according to the National Weather Service .

In the mountains, the threshold for issuing a winter weather alert is typically eight inches of snow in 12 hours or less or 12 or more inches of snow in 24 hours. At lower elevations, those accumulation thresholds drop to six and eight inches, respectively.

A 'blizzard warning' gets issued when extreme conditions including strong wind gusts (35 mph in low elevations, 50 mph in the mountains), considerable falling and/or drifting snow, and visibilities limited to less than a quarter-mile are expected for at least three hours.

If the predictions around this storm hold true, expect a 'winter weather warning' or 'blizzard warning' to follow the 'winter weather watch' that's currently underway.

Find additional updates on the National Weather Service website and the most recent 'expected snowfall' report here .

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