While most of the Aspen-area was asleep after a White Christmas, Mother Nature remained busy as another winter storm rolled into the area and a winter storm warning started at 2 a.m. Sunday.

The warning, which is for most all of the Colorado mountains including the Aspen and Snowmass area, remains in effect until 5 a.m. Monday with heavy snow and strong winds in the forecast all day Sunday.

“Total snow accumulations of 6 to 12 inches with locally stronger amounts above 10,000 feet,” according to the National Weather Service’s update Sunday morning. “Winds 55 to 65 mph and likely stronger above 12,000 feet.”

With the combination of strong winds and big snow, travelers should be prepared for whiteout conditions, according to the NWS. The warning includes the Interstate 70 mountain corridor.

The Glenwood Springs area is under a winter weather advisory, with forecasts calling for “snow and very strong winds expected,” with total snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches and wind gusts up to 45 to 55 mph throughout the day.

Snow remains in the forecast throughout the week.

This storm comes on the heels of the storm just before Christmas day that dropped nearly 2 feet of snow in some areas around Aspen and Snowmass Village. Sunlight Mountain Resort south of Glenwood Springs has received 15 inches of snow since Thursday.

Snowfall remains in the forecast through the next week to end 2021.

“A seemingly endless series of disturbances will move across the region throughout the week ahead bringing continued snow chance for much of the forecast area,” according to the NWS outlook.

Avalanche danger remains high in the Aspen zone (level 4 of 5) as the storms roll into Colorado. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center is discouraging any backcountry travel in the mountains for the next few days. A backcountry tourer was caught, buried and killed in an avalanche Friday near Cameron Pass in the Front Range zone, according to the CAIC.

“Feet of freshly fallen and wind-drifted snow has pushed buried weak layers to their breaking point. Natural avalanches may run on northerly and easterly-facing slopes where southwest winds drift snow,” according to the CAIC’s Aspen-zone forecast Sunday. “You can very easily trigger large, deep, and destructive avalanches on or near steep slopes. You can even trigger these from some distance away.”

For those traveling in and out of the Aspen airport, check with the airline or go to the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport’s website at aspenairport.com.