A late winter storm that began Friday created havoc across Colorado as roads closed, flights were canceled and crashes multiplied throughout the day on mountain roads.
The snow and slush in the mountains was courtesy of a wet spring storm that brought scattered rain showers to the Durango area, beginning shortly after noon. The storm is expected to linger in the state until late Monday. Weather service officials expect the storm to impact most mountain roads and passes all weekend, including Interstate 70, large sections of which were closed Friday afternoon.
In an unusual winter-storm twist, Vail Ski Resort closed at 11:30 a.m. Friday because of lightning.
All flights to and from Denver International and Durango-La Plata County airports on United Airlines on Saturday were pre-emptively canceled, said Tony Vicari, operations manager at the airport.
“They’re expecting 3 to 7 inches,” he said, “and while DIA is very prepared to deal with storms like that, it’s enough to cause lots of little delays that add up, so they get overloaded. United is just trying to avoid the chaos and give people time to make other arrangements.”
No significant accumulation was predicted overnight in Durango because it was expected to be too warm, said Tom Renwick, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. But Renwick would not rule out accumulation.
“These spring storms, they are tricky,” he said.
The San Juan Mountains above 7,000 feet can expect between 1 to 2 feet of snow from the storm, Renwick said. The predictions have been scaled back from the possibility of 3 feet, he said.
In good news for skiers, Wolf Creek Ski Area will be open Saturday and Sunday, with 5 inches of new snow in the past 24 hours, and Purgatory Resort is also expecting plenty of snow for its last weekend.
A similar storm could be moving into the Four Corners next weekend, Renwick said.
Cancellations
Events or activities may be canceled as a storm moves through the area over the weekend.
Trails 2000 Trailwork Kickoff at Overend Mountain Park scheduled for Saturday morning has been canceled. Visit www.trails2000.org for rescheduling information.
