After a Monday where the season’s first significant snowfall affected everything from airline departures to office closings, Tuesday may be more of the same.
The Grand Junction office of the National Weather Service extended the winter storm warning until 9 a.m. Tuesday, with a continuing chance of snow at 60 percent for Tuesday. It’s going to get colder, too, so icy roads should be expected. Through Thursday, the highs will be in the mid-20s, with lows in single digits.
The storm dumped about 11 inches over the weekend at Purgatory Resort. The National Weather Service in Grand Junction said 4 to 5 inches of snow fell in Durango on Monday and almost another foot at Purgatory and in the San Juan Mountains.
“It’s impacting all of western Colorado, but (the Durango area) is right in the bulls-eye,” said meteorologist Julie Malingowski.
Durango School District 9-R held classes as usual Monday but canceled all after-school activities because of the snow. Elementary school bus routes JC1, DW1 and DW2 were “severely delayed,” and Route JC1 and the Lightner Creek section of DW1 and DW2 were canceled for middle and high school students.
The school district said it would notify families of any Tuesday cancellations, delays or issues by 5:30 a.m. Tuesday. Information can be found on the school district website and social media.
Colorado Department of Transportation crews closed U.S. Highway 550 near Silverton and Ouray for 25 minutes on Saturday for avalanche mitigation, which will continue Tuesday or Wednesday.
“We worked Saturday on one of our most notorious slide paths, Blue Point, and brought down a 150-foot-long, 4-foot high pile of snow,” CDOT spokeswoman Nancy Shanks said. “Monday’s storm is carrying a lot of wind, which loads the slide paths up.”
Motorists should expect spot delays during avalanche control.
Also on Monday:
U.S. Highway 550 was closed early in the afternoon in both directions north of the Colorado-New Mexico border, between mile markers 1 and 4, as a result of several crashes, the Colorado State Patrol said. It reopened at 3 p.m.
La Plata County government closed its offices at 3 p.m.
Durango-La Plata Airport Director Kip Turner said poor visibility forced one incoming American Airlines flight from Phoenix to divert to Albuquerque. The United Airlines flight scheduled to arrive at 7:58 p.m. was canceled, and snow also backed up the flight schedule for other airlines. Crews were working to get the last flight of the day, United’s 11:13 p.m. arrival, on the ground Monday night.
Bayfield and Ignacio school districts also canceled after-school sports and meetings.
At least 35 traffic crashes occurred between 7 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Monday in Durango because of snowy conditions, according to Sgt. Rita Warfield of the Durango Police Department.
Colorado State Patrol Capt. Adrian Driscoll reported two accidents on U.S. Highway 160, including one between Elmore’s Corner and Gem Village involving a truck rollover that resulted in minor injuries earlier Monday, resulting in partial lane closures. All told, the patrol responded to 15 to 20 crashes during the day Monday, but more reports were filed online, he said. Both agencies were still responding to numerous crashes Monday night.
At Fort Lewis College, the front hill, connecting to East Eighth Avenue, was closed Monday morning because of icy conditions for the second time in three days. It was also closed Saturday.
CDOT had almost a full fleet out Monday with some 20 snowplows working the Durango Maintenance Area, which includes Bayfield, Pagosa Springs, Hesperus and Rockwood. Shanks warned motorists to slow down, particularly at intersections, which are icy. Chain laws remained in effect for commercial vehicles on all mountain passes Monday night.
jpace@durangoherald.com
Webcams
For a look at road conditions around the region, check the webcams on The Durango Herald’s weather page at http://thecloudscout.com.
Snowfall by the inches
Weather watchers gave the scoop on winter weather conditions outside of Durango. They reported the following between approximately 2 and 3:30 p.m. Monday:
Hesperus has 4¾ inches of new snow and “still coming,” with moisture at three-tenths of an inch, Pam Snyder said. Last weekend’s storms brought 5½ inches. Snyder said she was able to drive on roads in the area without four-wheel drive, but temperatures are getting colder.
Cortez is registering temperatures in the low 30s, Jim Andrews said. “Light to moderate” snow has fallen since about 10 a.m. and accumulated to approximately 1 inch. Andrews reported very slick local roadways.
Pagosa Springs received about 5 inches as of Monday afternoon. Fred Harman said snowing started before day break, and the temperature registered at 36 degrees at 2 p.m.
Silverton should get another 6 to 12 inches of snow with little moisture before the storm subsides, according to Freddie Canfield. The town has received a series of dry snows since Saturday, Canfield said. Moisture was at about 0.33 inches over the weekend.
Jessica Pace
Weather information
The Colorado Department of Transportation reminds motorists to check for updated weather information:
Visit www.cotrip.org for real-time road conditions, highway closures, average speeds, photos, live cameras streaming traffic, trucking information and more.
Call 511 to listen to recorded information about road conditions, projected trip travel times and trucker information.
Receive free email/text alerts at www.coloradodot.gov by clicking on the white envelope icon and choosing from a list of subscription options.
Follow @coloradodot on Twitter for traveler information and other news.
Like CDOT at www.facebook.com/coloradodot and receive major updates regarding traveler information and other CDOT news.
Visit www.coloradodot.gov/travel/winter-driving to get information about road conditions, what to keep in a vehicle during the winter, how to safely pass a snowplow, commercial-vehicle requirements, seasonal closures, snow removal and avalanche control.
Herald Staff
