A winter storm dumped about 5 inches of snow in Durango and more than a foot of snow in some parts of the San Juan Mountains early Wednesday.
The storm was expected to taper off Wednesday afternoon, making way for cold temperatures Wednesday and Thursday night.
Periodic snow furies were expected to add another 2 inches throughout the day Wednesday in Durango, said Matthew Aleksa, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.
The mountains were expected to receive two foot of snow into Thursday.
Traction laws were in effect for Coal Bank, Molas and Red Mountain passes on U.S. Highway 550 north of Durango. Traction laws were also in effect for Wolf Creek Pass on U.S. Highway 160 and Lizard Head Pass on Colorado Highway 145.
Heavy #snow and blowing snow causing near #whiteout conditions in mountains and some high valleys. Travel impacts expected. #COwx #UTwx pic.twitter.com/0qfYVRClXg
— NWS Grand Junction (@NWSGJT) February 6, 2019
Roads were mostly snow-covered throughout the region.
The Colorado State Patrol was responding to several crashes, including one near mile post 10 on U.S. Highway 550 south of Durango, one near Trimble Lane on Highway 550 north of Durango and one near mile post 9 on La Plata Highway (Colorado Highway 140) southwest of Durango, said Capt. Adrian Driscoll with the Colorado State Patrol.
“It’s been busy, steady,” he said. “... We’re all tied up, but nothing serious, no injuries. We just caution people to slow down and take their time.”
The storm brought high winds to the region, with wind gusts of 30 mph in the lower valleys such as Durango and 50-60 mph in the mountains.
A strong cold front associated with the storm was expected to arrive mid-morning or early afternoon Wednesday. The low Wednesday night was expected to be 2 degrees, and the low Thursday night was expected to be minus 7 degrees in Durango, Aleksa said.
“By Thursday, that’s when we start to get the clearing skies behind that trough as it moves out of here by Thursday morning,” he said. “We’ll see highs Thursday in the mid- to upper-20s for the Durango area.”
The next good chance for snow is Monday, but that system doesn’t look to be as strong as Wednesday’s storm, Aleksa said.
“But it’s still a ways out, so we’ll have to wait and see,” he said.
shane@durangoherald.com
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Herald Staff
