Editorials – The Durango Herald

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Our View: Musings on office jargon

A couple of surveys published this summer highlight the most annoying examples of office jargon. At The Durango Herald, we compared notes to see what gets under our skin the most. The langua...

DATE: Sep 10, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Our View: Buck right to debunk untruths about Jan. 6 defendants

Who does state GOP most represent – conservatives, populists or patriots?

DATE: Sep 8, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Our View: Durango VFW squeezed with parents protesting Mothers for Liberty

Durango’s Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 4031, found itself in a tricky spot last night. Moms for Liberty, a conservative parental rights group focused on education, had joined the La Plata ...

DATE: Sep 6, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Our View: Placing public art part of our purview

The newest piece of public art, created in a thorough citizen effort, is in limbo. Fortunately, for the city of Durango, we are here to help. Add to our many skills, an expertise in placing ...

DATE: Sep 1, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Our View: Encouraged by Haley’s campaign, grounded in reality

On the debate stage a week ago in Milwaukee, GOP presidential primary candidate Nikki Haley came closest to melding conservative ideals with America’s realities. A winning combination, her r...

DATE: Aug 30, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Our View: Trump should be on debate stage

“Enough about me” are words you’ll likely never hear coming from Donald Trump. Still, we insist that Trump run a presidential campaign focused on America’s problems, not his own. So why didn...

DATE: Aug 23, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Our View: 1984’s Mountain Gravel v. City of Cortez reinforces ‘no’ to industrial rezone

Residents in north Cortez’s Montview neighborhood remembered hearing about a lawsuit won in the early 1980s in a fight against nearby industrial activity, similar to their quest to stop Inde...

DATE: Aug 20, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Our View: Interrogate 9-R school board candidates

Ask difficult questions so voters know what’s ahead

DATE: Aug 18, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Our View: Keep unaffiliated voting in primaries

It’s an interesting choice for attorney John Eastman to represent the Colorado GOP in its lawsuit to block unaffiliated voters from Republican primaries. The lawsuit alleges Proposition 108,...

DATE: Aug 16, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Our View: Positive moments with kids beats politics of childrearing

Just before the school year begins, we notice how our students have changed over the summer. Whether they are 4 inches taller or moodier or chattier or hanging with a new crowd, open to othe...

DATE: Aug 13, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Our View: COVID-19 response exacting; emergency payments vague

We can’t say enough good things about former San Juan Basin Public Health Executive Director Liane Jollon’s exemplary emergency response to COVID-19. In this new frontier that was the pandem...

DATE: Aug 11, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Our view: Televise Trump’s trial

“Court is a quiet, somber sanctuary, where rules prevent the disorienting chaos we experience online,” said Steven Brill, founder of Court TV, in a Saturday New York Times essay in support o...

DATE: Aug 9, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Hundreds attend Candlelight vigil for Cortez police Sgt. Michael Moran

Skyhawks score 41 points off turnovers Monday at Whalen Gymnasium

Snowstorm moves through the areaThe season’s first big snowstorm causes problems for drivers and makes for a winter wonderland

The season’s first big snowstorm causes problems for drivers and makes for a winter wonderland

Photos: Singing with SantaSanta Claus makes his first appearance in Durango

Santa Claus makes his first appearance in Durango

Snow descends on DurangoForecasters say storm could dump 6 inches in Durango area

A fall storm that moved into Southwest Colorado Friday morning was expected to dump 6 inches of snow in the Durango area – more than weather forecasters had initially predicted.Snow started falling about 9:15 a.m. Friday and intensified shortly before 11:30 a.m., blanketing parks, vehicles and the hilltops overlooking the city. Roads became slick about 2:30 p.m. As of 4 p.m., the Durango Police Department had responded to six crashes, in addition to a few stranded motorists.U.S. Highway 160 at County Road 44 near Mancos Hill was closed from around 4 p.m. to just after 6 p.m. because a vehicle carrying an “oversized load” had spun out and blocked both the eastbound and westbound lanes, according to Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Lisa Schwantes.“Right now our officers are able to keep up with the crashes that are coming in,” said Cmdr. Nick Stasi, with the Durango Police Department. “As always with winter weather, we remind drivers to slow down and give extra space for the cars in front.”Snow started accumulating very fast as the day went on, making it “challenging for plow operators to keep up,” according to CDOT.

Southwest Colorado’s five major mountain passes were icy and snowpacked Friday afternoon. But all five remained open as of 4:15 p.m.The Pacific storm favored the southern and central Colorado mountains, said Dave Byers, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.“Durango looks like a 70% chance of getting 6 inches or more of snow by the end of tonight (Friday),” Byers said.He expected a half inch to three-quarters of an inch of moisture from the storm, which is up from the one-tenth to two-tenths of an inch that was predicted earlier this week. Meanwhile, the mountains could receive 1 to 2 feet of snow from the storm, he said.“In the last few days, it has really picked up,” Byers said. “The southern mountains are catching the brunt of it.”The snowy weather didn’t stop Liz Ferrill and her family from stopping by Cream Bean Berry for a Unicorn Sundae. “We thought it might be a festive way to celebrate,” said Ferrill, who was visiting from Snowmass, where the first snow occurred in September.For others, the snow provided the impetus they needed to swap out tires or purchase new snow tires. Andre Payne, a sales person at J/P Tire in Durango, said the phone began ringing shortly after 9 a.m. with people wanting to switch to snow tires.“We’ve been pretty busy,” he said.

It is not unusual for drivers to wait until they see the first snow and then want to swap out tires. The tire shop began advising customers to switch to snow tires about three weeks ago. Some people take the advice, other choose to wait.“We can always tell people what to do, but if you're not ready for it then you have to suffer the consequences of waiting two hours or maybe getting in an accident,” Payne said.Byers said Friday’s storm was the result of a southwest flow pulling moisture from Southern California, Arizona and the Gulf of California.As the moisture-laden atmosphere hits the San Juan Mountains, it wrings out the moisture, he said.Temperatures are expected to cool off as the storm makes its way out of the region this weekend. The highs this weekend will be in the upper 30s, and the lows could dip into the single digits, he said.“There’s still a northerly flow that is pulling cold air down out of Canada,” he said.Byers characterized Friday’s storm as a “shoulder storm” between summer and winter, but he said it is a sure sign that a regular track is settling in for Southwest Colorado.“We’re expecting regular storms … from now on, more into that winter pattern,” Byers said.Residents can expect mostly clear conditions through Wednesday, with clouds moving in the following day ahead of another storm that looks “very similar” to Friday’s storm, Byers said.shane@durangoherald.com; mhollinshead@durangoherald.com

Forecasters say storm could dump 6 inches in Durango area

PHOTOS: Turkey Trot returns to DurangoNearly 600 competitors ran before they gobbled down their Thanksgiving feasts on Thursday

Nearly 600 competitors ran before they gobbled down their Thanksgiving feasts on Thursday

PHOTOS: Durango faces Lutheran in 3A state football quarterfinalsDemons fall to Lions, 39-30, on Saturday

Demons fall to Lions, 39-30, on Saturday

PHOTOS: Fort Lewis basketball teams host doubleheaderThe men’s team beat Western New Mexico 87-68, while the women’s team fell in the final minutes to Northern New Mexico, 67-62