Southwest Colorado started the work week Monday with winter snowstorms, which meant motor vehicle accidents, a few airport delays and temporary highway closures.
The snow started flying late Sunday and carried into the early hours Monday, ranging from a couple of inches of slushy accumulation in the Durango area to a foot of snow in the higher elevations of the San Juan Mountains.
Some area roads were expected to ice over Monday night, creating treacherous driving conditions Tuesday morning.
Dennis Phillips, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction, said wind speeds were fairly low Monday in Durango at about 14 mph, but they reached 40 to 45 mph near Silverton and Ouray, as well as the Wolf Creek area.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning Sunday afternoon for the southwest San Juan Mountains lasting through 8 a.m. Tuesday.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center showed avalanche danger ranging from moderate to considerable for the northern San Juans on Monday, with the risk increasing on Tuesday.
The Colorado Department of Transportation closed U.S. Highway 550 at Red Mountain Pass just after 5 a.m. Monday until about 11:30 a.m. CDOT cameras showed snow blanketing the area, which is at 11,000 feet elevation in the San Juan Mountains.
“We had some snow come down at one of our notorious avalanche slide passes, Blue Point,” CDOT spokeswoman Nancy Shanks said. Blue Point is located at mile post 81. “Blue Point ran about 5:10 Monday morning, 5 feet high and 40 feet long – not huge by slide path standards. Crews cleared it quickly, but are triggering slides now,” Shanks said late Monday morning before the road opened.
Highway 550 has approximately 110 slide paths.
The pass is north of Silverton and south of Ouray, between mile markers 69 and 92. Coal Bank and Molas passes, both north of Durango and south of Silverton, remained open Monday.
Phillips said winter weather would persist through Tuesday morning in those areas north of Durango, but cautioned drivers throughout the region to be wary of the freezing temperatures.
“I’d definitely be more worried about the ice than the snow,” he said. Highs in the upper 30s are expected Tuesday for the Durango area.
Red Mountain Pass has received 10-12 inches of wet, heavy snowfall since late Sunday, while Molas Pass, just south of Red Mountain, received approximately 6 inches, putting into effect chain laws for commercial vehicles on Monday.
“Drivers need to get those snow tires on and go very, very slowly ... or do not go at all,” Shanks said.
The Durango area awoke Monday to slushy roads and snowy rooftops.
“Durango was on the rain-snow line,” weather service meteorologist Joe Ramey said.
Some drivers had a difficult Monday morning in La Plata County with four vehicle crashes and eight incidents of drivers sliding off the road, Colorado State Patrol Capt. Adrian Driscoll said.
The vehicle slides occurred on U.S. Highway 160 west of town between Mancos Hill and Hesperus. At least two of the crashes were rollovers. One occurred on Wildcat Canyon Road (County Road 141), closing the road for approximately 15 minutes. Another occurred on Florida Road (County Road 240). All four crashes involved only minor injuries, Driscoll said.
“We’ve had no significant road closures yet, but we encourage people to drive slower and have the proper equipment.”
The precipitation also slowed things down west of town at the Durango-La Plata County Airport on Monday. Airport Director Kip Turner said United Airlines canceled two departures from Durango because of Denver’s weather. The same airline delayed an afternoon departure from Durango for three hours for that reason.
American Airlines also diverted a flight back to Phoenix because of weather in Durango.
“We’re keeping the runways brushed and plowed,” Turner said. “Otherwise we’ve been business as usual. Most of our flights went on time today.”
Compared with cities to the north, the Durango area looked mild on Monday, but the precipitation heralded the arrival of snow tire season for local tire companies.
Steve Rucker, manager at JP Tire at 1776 Main Ave., said customers beat employees to the shop Monday morning, which opened at its regularly scheduled time.
“This morning, we got hit with it,” Rucker said. “People have been coming in and pre-planning as opposed to waiting to the last minute.
“The first snow is always the big push. Everyone has the same idea on the same day. Hands down, we sell five sets of snow tires to one set of all-season tires on a good snow day. This one is moderate.”
A Monday evening blizzard in the Denver area might prompt an early opening for ski resorts in that area, but Purgatory Resort representatives said they’re not getting a jump on ski season just because of Monday’s snow. Opening day is still set for Saturday with top-to-bottom skiing and snowboarding off Lift 1.
“We received a foot of snow as of 11 a.m. Monday, and it’s been snowing pretty much throughout the day on and off,” resort spokeswoman Kim Oyler said. “This weekend we’re opening the resort for our 50th anniversary.”
Wolf Creek Ski Area opened last week.
jpace@durangoherald.com
On the Net
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.
Follow @coloradodot on Twitter for traveler information and other news.
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Herald Staff
