Durango School District 9-R canceled classes Friday after 2 to 4 inches of snow fell overnight in the city.
“Due to hazardous road conditions, including high winds and drifting snow, all Durango School District schools will be closed,” 9-R said in a news release. “... Looking at the forecast, a two-hour snow delay would not be enough for road conditions to improve.”
The district said it made the decision in collaboration with emergency management.
Purgatory Resort received about 6 inches of overnight snow.
Durango-La Plata County Airport Aviation Director Tony Vicari said several outbound flights from the airport were delayed for standard deicing procedures Friday morning.
An American Airlines flight departing to Dallas was delayed by about one hour and a United Airlines flight was delayed by about two hours for deicing, he said. Another American Airlines outbound flight to Phoenix departed on schedule around 6:30 a.m.
Another United Airlines flight was delayed due to ongoing aircraft maintenance unrelated to weather conditions, he said.
Vicari said he didn’t anticipate any major impacts to flights through the weekend, although minor delays for routine deicing could occur if snow showers happen Friday evening into Saturday.
“Now things are clearing up at the airport. There's largely clear skies and melting surface,” he said midmorning Friday. “There's been little surface impacts throughout the storm, so we've been able to maintain the runway and keep it open and safe.”
During weather events, he said travelers arrive 90 minutes before their scheduled departure, and travelers should account for possible icy roads on their way to the airport.
The National Weather Service forecast called for sunny skies Sunday, partly cloudy skies Monday and another chance for light moisture Tuesday. The highs are expected to be in the 50s.
Herald staff writer Christian Burney contributed to this report.
