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Snow squall hits Routt County

A snow squall, a period of intense winds and snow causing whiteout conditions, blew through Steamboat Springs on Tuesday.

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Routt County is under a snow squall warning, which has been extended until around 5:45 p.m. today, bringing a short period of high winds causing really low visibility and making travel dangerous.

“There is just intense upward motion along the front, and we’ll probably get convection, kind of like summertime thunderstorms but in the winter,” said Mike Weissbluth, a local meteorologist who runs the forecasting website Snowalarm.com.

A snow squall is an intense burst of wind and snow that can lead to whiteout conditions.



An alert was sent to county residents advising them not to drive, because the squall could cause near zero visibility. A squall is a sudden increase in wind speeds that last minutes, contrary to a gust that would last seconds.

The storm has had lightning in the convection, according to Wiessbluth. He said it should not last too long, and more snow will continue after.



“It is going to be brief, so if you wait 15 minutes, it could subside,” Weissbluth said. “Hopefully we get into the more persistent snow after that, but it won’t be blowing, and it won’t be quite as heavy.”


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