An overnight snowstorm closed schools, caused widespread power outages and brought 80 mph winds to parts of Southwest Colorado.
Area roads were turned icy, making for dangerous driving conditions Wednesday morning across much of La Plata County. Durango, Bayfield and Ignacio school districts closed as a result of the storm.
It was the second considerable snowstorm within about a week.
The snow started falling about 4 a.m. Wednesday, said Colorado Department of Transportation Maintenance Supervisor Dusty Ledford.
As of 8 a.m., snow accumulation had reached 3 to 6 inches along U.S. Highway 160 between Cortez and Pagosa Springs with 10 inches on Wolf Creek Pass, he said.
U.S. Highway 550 between Rockwood and Purgatory Resort had snowfall between 9 and 12 inches; and Coal Bank, Molas and Red Mountain passes had 12 inches of drifting snow and high winds during the morning commute.
Two semitrailers crashed near Bayfield and numerous drivers have slid off the road, said Capt. John Trentini with the Colorado State Patrol in Southwest Colorado.
Officers were responding to help drivers, but road conditions have made recovery efforts challenging.
“We’re doing what we can with what we’ve got,” Trentini said.
“If you don’t have essential travel, stay home,” he said.
The Durango Police Department reported three crashes as of 11:15 a.m., said Cmdr. Ray Shupe.
Colorado State Highway 3 and the roads on the backside of Fort Lewis College remained difficult to travel heading into Wednesday afternoon. Most of the other roads in town are clear with slushy conditions.
“It’s not been too bad,” Shupe said.
CDOT expects winds to die down this afternoon, but snow will continue to fall and blow across traffic.
Durango School District closed because of severe weather, power outages and icy road conditions. The decision was made in collaboration with emergency management, said district spokeswoman Julie Popp.
“It’s absolutely all of those things,” she said.
Popp said the school district serves a wide geographical area that stretches from the Colorado-New Mexico border to Purgatory Resort, and if the district is unable to safely operate bus service because of hazardous conditions, that weighs heavily on the district’s decision whether to cancel classes.
She said snowplow drivers were trying to keep up with road conditions, and there was an icy layer below the fresh snow that fell overnight. And the district was dealing with widespread power outages, she said.
La Plata Electric Association was reporting 26 power outages affecting 1,452 customers in La Plata and Archuleta counties as of 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The outages began about 4 a.m., according to a news release issued by LPEA.
“The primary cause of the outages are high winds, downed trees and damaged LPEA equipment,” the release said.
Crews were working to restore the outages, although inclement weather and icy road conditions were making restoration difficult.
“Usually, our storms don’t have that much wind, but this one did because the storm was much more powerful,” said Mark Miller, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
The National Weather Service received reports of wind gusts up to 80 mph across the Western Slope, he said.
Winds peaked between midnight and 6 a.m., but Durango will continue to see wind gusts up to 40 mph throughout the morning, he said.
“They should gradually diminish as you go through the afternoon especially toward the evening,” Miller said.
A winter weather advisory was in effect until 11 a.m. Wednesday for the Durango and Bayfield areas.
The message posted by Bayfield School District read: “Due to treacherous driving conditions and power outages, there will be no school for Bayfield School District today, Wednesday, December 15, 2021.”
A similar message was posted by Ignacio School District: “Due to low visibility, power outages and icy roads, the Ignacio School District is canceling school today Wednesday, December 15th.”
Animas High School, which relies on Durango’s bus service, usually follows Durango’s lead in deciding whether to close schools for the day.
La Plata County government announced it would be opening two hours later than normal, so at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Passenger vehicle traction and commercial vehicle chain laws were in effect for area passes, including Coal Bank, Molas, Red Mountain, Lizard Head and Wolf Creek, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
“If your vehicle is not equipped with the right tires, you shouldn't be on the roadway,” Trentini said.
Drivers can expect similar hazardous conditions again tomorrow.
CDOT crews and the Colorado Avalanche Information Center are planning avalanche mitigation operations on mountain passes Thursday morning.
Snow showers will continue through the afternoon and into the evening before temperatures decrease to single digits.
Another storm will bring more snow to the central Western Slope starting Tuesday afternoon, but will likely miss Durango, Miller said.
“Temperatures will be dropping like a rock tonight. They'll probably fall into the single digits near the airport,” Miller said.
Temperatures will rise above freezing Tuesday, but remain below freezing overnight on Wednesday and again Thursday.
“Roads may remain icy and snowpacked,” said CDOT Deputy Superintendent John Palmer. “Travelers should slow down and drive to the conditions.”
If temperatures fall too low, snowplow drivers will be unable to apply treatments to the road.
CDOT plows can continue to lay sand and salt or brine liquid until road temperatures reach 16 degrees Fahrenheit. Road temperatures in La Plata County were at about 20-30 degrees as of 9:30 a.m., Palmer said.
Drivers were urged to be cautious, especially on the evening commute.
“If you have to be out, make sure you’re driving extremely slow and you’re paying attention,” Trentini said.
Travelers can visit cotrip.org for up-to-date road conditions from CDOT.
