Tuesday’s snowstorm dropped several inches of snow in the Durango area, closing schools, causing scattered power outages and making roads treacherous.
Snow had subsided by the afternoon, but light snow remains possible early Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
Roads and bridges may be icy during the Wednesday morning commute, said Nancy Shanks, spokeswoman for Colorado Department of Transportation.
The National Weather Service forecasts sunny skies and a high near 41 degrees for Wednesday. Sunny weather and a slight warming trend was forecast through the weekend.
The storm brought the most significant snowfall of this winter. Nearly 20 inches was reported in some weather stations in the San Juan Mountains, said Dan Cuevas, a National Weather Service technician.
Seven inches was reported in Durango, 9.6 inches at Vallecito, 12 inches seven miles north of Bayfield and 13.2 inches at Columbus Basin in the La Plata Mountains.
Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort reported 8 inches and powder conditions, while Wolf Creek Ski Area received 12 inches as of mid-afternoon Tuesday.
The Pacific storm brought wet snow that turned to slush by the afternoon. Roads were treacherous, particularly Tuesday morning. Several vehicles slid off the road in places, but no serious accidents were reported, said Capt. Adrian Driscoll of the Colorado State Patrol.
Power outages
The wet snow had La Plata Electric Association crews hopping all day long dealing with snapped lines and other snow-related outages.
As of 6 p.m., about 3,300 customers remained without power. LPEA crews are scheduled to work through the night to bring power to all customers. Anyone without power was encouraged to call 247-5786 to ensure that LPEA was aware of the situation.
In total, 2,389 individual outages, some of them repeats, plagued a widespread area, from north in the Animas Valley to southwest of Durango and also up Junction Creek. The most customers without power at any given time was about 10,000, beating the 9,300 in Archuleta County who were left in the dark in December 2007, co-op spokeswoman Indiana Reed said. Besides the 13,000 customers who lost power, many others endured ”the blinks,” brief breaks in service.
LPEA had 12 crews in the field at a given time, Reed said.
The hardest hit areas in La Plata County were Crestview, the area around Fort Lewis College, the Bayfield-Gem Village area and Forest Lakes. Power was out for an hour in the area around the Durango-La Plata County Airport.
In Archuleta County, about 2,000 customers in neighborhoods served by the Ponderosa substation were the most affected.
Travel woes
Mountain passes remained open with commercial chain restrictions. Area highways were clearing by Tuesday afternoon.
Flights arriving from Denver were delayed because of weather-related issues in Denver, said Kip Turner, director of aviation at the Durango-La Plata County Airport. Arriving flights from Phoenix and Dallas were not affected, he said.
Two flights departing for Dallas-Fort Worth were delayed.
Crews worked Monday night keeping the runways and aprons clear, he said.
Tuesday morning, a United Airlines flight that was scheduled to leave Durango for Denver at 7:50 a.m. was canceled, while another flight scheduled to depart at 10:13 a.m. was delayed.
School schedules
All public schools were closed Tuesday in Durango, Bayfield and Ignacio, including Fort Lewis College.
Durango School District 9-R is slated to have all its schools open Wednesday.
The snow day was rare for Durango schools. It was unclear when the last daylong closure occurred.
The district issued an emergency message Tuesday morning, announcing closure of all schools. Road and sidewalk conditions made travel challenging, the district said.
“We know that these decisions have an impact on families and we appreciate your patience and understanding,” 9-R said.
cslothower@durangoherald.com. Herald staff writers Chase Olivarius-McCallister and Dale Rodebaugh contributed to this report.
Weather information
The Colorado Department of Transportation reminds drivers 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.
Receive free email/text alerts at www.coloradodot.info by clicking the green cellphone icon and choose from a list of subscription options.
Follow @coloradodot on Twitter for traveler information and other news.
Like CDOT at www.facebook.com/coloradodot and receive major updates regarding traveler information and other CDOT news.
Visit www.coloradodot.info/travel/winter-driving to get information about what to keep in a vehicle during the winter, how to safely pass a snowplow, commercial vehicle requirements, seasonal closures, snow removal and avalanche control.
Herald Staff
Outages update
Several power outages still had La Plata Electric Association crews working overnight.
Estimates for the number of customers still without power were not available at press time, but it was 3,300 at 6 p.m.
This ranked as LPEA’s largest outage ever, with 13,000 customers losing power at some point beginning about 3 a.m. Tuesday. About 12 crews are on the job, with plans to work through the night.
Anyone without power Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning is encouraged to call 247-5786 to ensure that LPEA is aware of the situation.
School District 9-R announced Tuesday evening that classes and school activities will resume their normal schedule Wednesday. Any change in that decision, such as a delayed start time, will be announced by 6 a.m. Visit www.durangoschools.org or call 375-3811 after 6 a.m. to see if there are any changes.
Ignacio and Bayfield school districts had not announced their schedule for Wednesday by press time.
The Colorado Department of Transportation warned drivers that roads may be icy Wednesday morning after an overnight freeze.
