Sunday snowstorm snarls I-70 traffic in Vail, greater Eagle County

With great powder comes great responsibility, Sunday commuters are reminded as a massive snowstorm rips through Eagle County.

The closures started early, with EC Alerts notifying drivers of an accident shortly before 1 a.m. in Dowd Junction that caused closures on both the eastbound and westbound sides of I-70. Shortly after, an EC alert offered a general warning in anticipation of other incidents. “There are multiple accidents around the county due to bad weather. Please drive safely and consider not traveling. Minor road incident alerts will be temporarily suspended at this time,” the alert read.

The same alert was resent at around 6 a.m., giving Sunday workers and recreationists a timely heads-up before they headed out the door.

A few minutes later, an alert came out over a westbound closure in West Vail at milemarker 173 for recovery of a semi. One hour later, the closure was pushed two miles back to milemarker 171, giving drivers opportunity for egress at Dowd Junction. As of 7:51 a.m., that section of highway has reopened with the semi cleared.

Refresh this article for updates throughout the day.