What is the weather like along I-70 in January?

I live in Denver. I definitley think planning a drive along I-70 around here (I haven’t gone too far East on 70) in January is taking a big risk.

It very well may be 60 degrees and sunny. But the chances are very good there will be road closures, chain requirements, almost zero visibility, and other very hazardous conditions.

Does your schedule allow you to check out the road conditions before leaving and plan an optimal time, or are you stuck to a specific date?

Which part of Colorado; east of the Rockies? It is flat country until you hit the Mts.

@gailcalled Well, the foothills – Boulder.

@Likeradar I hadn’t even thought of the chain requirements. I always see those signs driving along I-70 but never think anything of them. AHh, I’m glad you thought of that for me! My schedule is loose. As of now anyhow…I don’t have any specific dates I need to stick to, although it would be nice to have a day set. I can work around stuff, though.

Boulder is wonderful. But the elevation is 5400’ and the Flatirons are not low. Bring warm clothing and an AAA membership.

A word of advice.. Get chains and practice putting them on. Practice a lot. Then buy some good gloves. Then practice putting them on with the gloves on.

It can be very hard to put chains on when your fingers are numb. Trust me.

For Colorado:

“The January Mean Temperature is 29.2 degrees (from 1971–2000 data).” Source

“Average January Snowfall is 7.7 inches (from 1971–2000 DEN data).” Source

You may want to look at the tables as the variance is enormous.

@deni There have been times during the winters out here that I couldn’t drive from Denver to Boulder because of road conditions. And I’m reasonably cautious, not a total wimp.

If you decide to do this drive, please leave yourself a lot of time in case of blizzards and be willing to get a room for overnight in a few towns along the way if you need to.

I hope you get sunshine!

I live north of Denver, but I think that traveling I-70 isn’t TOO big of a risk. It definitely could be trouble depending on the weather, but coming from the east, it’s not as bad as the west, which goes right into the mountains. You could be unlucky and have some horrible times, but it’s not like I-70 in January is always a downpour of snow.

Sailors talk of looking for a “weather window” before making a long crossing. I think if your leaving date is flexible, you should be able to get fairly accurate predictions before setting out (since it is only a 24 hour trip) and time your leaving to be safe. Naturally, you should also have things like chains, flares and warm clothes in the car “just in case.”

There usually isn’t any chain requirements out on 1–70 unless you are going through the mountains. But because you are going to be going through Kansas, you might hit a storm that will close down 1–70 going to and leaving CO. But we usually don’t get those types of storms until March, or April. But like @janbb said, you have to have an emergency kit with you no matter what, cause you are going to be driving out on the plains, and there isn’t a lot there. But you should be safe driving through in Jan. Rest up, don’t drive stright through, take many breaks you’ll need it. Good luck, and I will wish you an early Welcome to Co. you’ll love it!

January can be rather harsh, but I think you should be O.K.
I lived in Colorado Springs my whole life, and you can still get around fine. March is when we always saw the biggest storms (3–4 feet in Monument). Take it slow, and if the wether is bad just stop for the night.

All these answers are informative and good. I’ll answer from my experience. I’ve driven this route hundreds of times both in auto and ‘big truck’ (30 yrs. OTR).
The person who made the comment about a weather window was right on. With todays prediction accuracy this is possible.
From Penna to Kansas City, Mo. in January you have the possibility of heavy snows. Usually well predicted. Less so west of St. Louis to KC. Missouri usually having milder weather. Once into Kansas you will have more wind, colder temps, possible midwest blizzards, and more boredom. I don’t recall a lot of heavy wet snows in Kansas but the wind conditions will create ground blizzards even on sunny days with even minimal amount of snow. There are no mountains in Kansas to worry about. Colorado, here’s where the fun starts. It is much the same as Kansas till you get to Wheatridge (Denver west). It’s flat long and pretty much nothing till Denver. It too is windy, cold, with possible blinding snow. Anticipate, watch the news, look for that window. Pack your emergency equipment. The usual warm clothes, communication, food, warning devices, and get good rest. You shouldn’t need chains except west of Denver.
So it’s not a real hard dangerous trip. There are lot’s of interesting things to see, lot’s of good food. (Try the truck stop in Topeka) I’ll say rest again. Kansas and Colorado will put you to sleep.
Hope I added something. Just joined this, uh, ocean so thought I’d blow off. You’ll love Colorado. Everybody is from out east. ( Joke) ...

@hartford3 Thanks so much, very helpful answer! Kansas sure will put you to sleep, lol, I dread driving through it, but then again there is something so comforting about it. If I’m in Kansas, I must be on my way to something fantastic or just coming home from it…both of which are good. Anyhow, I can’t wait to get out there, I’ll fo sho take your advice :)

My experience echoes that of @hartford3. My last trip along I-70 was on Jan 2, 1996. We picked up I-70 in Missouri after coming from GA. We met a blizzard in Kansas. You may see heavy weather anywhere along the route. In Missouri, Southern Illinois and Indiana, you are more likely to see ice storms than snow storms. It is possible to drive in a snowstorm if it is not a blizzard. Instead of taking the I-70 route, you may want to consider the I-80 route. According to Google maps there is only a total difference of 5 miles.