DENVER -- An early autumn storm brought heavy snow to northern Colorado mountains on Monday and led to power blackouts for thousands of customers.
The National Weather Service said 18 inches fell near Steamboat Springs. Red Cliff, south of Vail, reported 14 inches and Winter Park reported nearly 10 inches.
Here are more snow totals from around the region:
Gold Hill 5.5 inches
Crescent Village 4 inches
Rollinsville 8 inches
Walden 8.6 inches
Dillon 8 inches
Kremmling 5 inches
Winter Park 9.5 inches
4 SE Gould 5 inches
Williams Fork Reservoir 4 inches
Grant 0.5 inches
Virginia Dale 0.2 inches
Nederland 6 inches
Fairplay 2.7 inches
Golden 4.8 inches
Estes Park 0.9 inches
Aspen Springs 7 inches
Allenspark 3.5 inches
Silverthorne 6.7 inches
Breckenridge 12.7 inches
Georgetown 8 inches
Fraser 7 inches
Black Hawk 6.3 inches
About 21,600 customers lost electricity for five minutes or longer starting Sunday night, Xcel Energy said. About 23,000 had shorter blackouts or saw their lights flicker because of storm damage, utility spokesman Mark Stutz said.
Heavy snow caused trees and branches to fall onto some lines, and high winds blew other lines into each other, he said.
Power was restored to all but about 8,000 customers by mid-day Monday, Stutz said.
Most highways were open, but the storm prompted Rocky Mountain National Park to close Trail Ridge Road. It is the highest continuous paved road in the United States and reaches an elevation of 12,183 feet (3,700 meters).
We could see more than a foot of snow over some of the higher mountain passes near Aspen, Vail and Steamboat Springs. These areas are under a Winter Storm Warning until midnight tonight. Travel may be hazardous at times.
A Winter Weather Advisory extends down to 7000 feet for 3-6" of snow. Cities included are Nederland, Estes Park, Winter Park, Craig, Silver Plume and Grand Mesa. Wind gusts may be around 40 mph creating low visibility.
