SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. — With Christmas now behind us, drivers are bracing for one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season.
AAA is projecting that more than 122 million Americans will travel at least fifty miles from home between December 20 and January 1.
The busy travel period coincides with snow in the forecast this weekend after record-breaking heat for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
“Usually there’s snow, so it feels like Thanksgiving,” said Silverthorne resident Jennifer Foster.
Nathan Scrivener, visiting from New Zealand, didn’t expect such a warm ski trip this year.
“Skiied in Breckenridge – the snow’s not so great at the moment,” he said.
Either way, he came prepared, making sure his rental vehicle was 4WD with proper tires for winter driving.
“Would like to avoid [driving in the snow] if possible. We don’t get a lot of snow back home,” he said. Scrivener drove back to Denver just in the nick of time.
While I-70 looked great on Friday, it will likely be a different story as the winter weather rolls in.
This weekend brings a chance of snow and icy roads along the i-70 corridor.
Denver7 | Weather
Snow ends early Sunday then turning sunny across Denver
Skyler McKinley with AAA says Friday through Sunday will be busy days on the road as people travel back from their Christmas destinations, coinciding with the winter weather whiplash.
He warned this could potentially cause problems on the roads.
“We’ve had this long stretch where drivers get complacent. They might not have winterized their vehicle. They might have forgotten how to drive in the high country in winter weather and now they’re in the high county and have to drive back to the Front Range while the snow is flying,” said McKinley.
The Kanes, from Conifer, know this all too well.
“Well I-70 gets real bollocks, we basically don’t travel on the weekends if we can avoid it. It’s crazy,” said Brian Kane.
They told Denver7 they planned to wrap up their Frisco trip a little early on Saturday in order to avoid peak travel times – and major traffic.
We asked them to share their best advice for anyone traveling on I-70 this weekend.
“Don’t start up the tunnels if you don’t have 4WD because you will be in trouble and you will block everyone behind you. You will not be popular,” they said, “Honestly be prepared for the worst. Check the conditions, check CDOT, check Waze or whatever your other apps are.”
- In the video player below, check out Denver7 Stacey Donaldson's latest forecast with updated projected snow totals.
McKinley adds this is a good time to check your tire pressure, have winter wiper fluid on hand — and make sure your tires meet the updated traction laws — if not you’ll need to use tire chains or other traction devices.
You're also advised to check real-time road conditions on CDOT's I-70 landing page.
