The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for the mountains of Eastern Summit County, Rocky Mountain National Park and the Medicine Bow Range, the Mosquito Range and the Indian Peaks.

Heavy snow is expected with total snow accumulations ranging from 10-20 inches. The heaviest amounts of snow will fall on the crest and Eastern slopes of the Front Range. Much lighter snow of zero to 2 inches is forecast from the valleys of Summit County to Vail Pass.

The winter storm warning went into affect at around 4 a.m. on Tuesday, May 6, and is expected to last until 6 a.m. on Wednesday, May 7.

Travel is expected to be very difficult Tuesday afternoon and evening, including Interstate 70 east of the Eisenhower Tunnel, the Peak to Peak Highway, U.S. 40 over Berthoud Pass and Colorado Highway 14 over and east of Cameron Pass. The hazardous conditions will impact the late Tuesday morning and Tuesday evening commutes.

“The storm will move slowly on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and multiple waves of snow will sweep across Colorado,” OpenSnow.com founding meteorologist Joel Gratz said. “The most intense wave of snow should be on Tuesday and Tuesday night, meaning that the best high-elevation powder should be on Tuesday and Wednesday morning.”

Looking further into the week, a few inches of snow could fall on Friday and Saturday, according to National Weather Service reports before weather is expected to shift toward rain.