Durango, Bayfield and Ignacio school districts canceled classes Tuesday as a result of “severe weather and hazardous road conditions.”

A series of winter storms have dumped several inches of snow throughout La Plata County. The storms started early Sunday, when Durango residents woke up to at least 5 inches of fresh snow. The storms tapered off Monday, but snow flurries are expected to continue through Tuesday.

Some county roads were icy and snowpacked Monday night, including Wildcat Canyon Road (County Road 141) southwest of Durango, said Cpl. Jonathan Silver, with the Colorado State Patrol.

But road crews had done a good job of staying ahead of the storm, he said.

“They have it sanded in places they should,” Silver said. “The roads are fairly well groomed. The biggest issue is if people don’t slow down then it ends up becoming a chain reaction because they crash and then other people try to avoid them and they crash.”

He said it helped that Monday was a holiday, which reduced the traffic volume. But Tuesday morning is a normal commute day, and roads could be dangerous depending on what happens with overnight snowfall, Silver said.

“If we get another load and it warms up a little bit like it does when it snows, roads could be pretty treacherous,” he said.

shane@durangoherald.com