The Christmas storm arrived Thursday night in Southwest Colorado, dropping more than a foot of snow by Friday morning in the San Juan Mountains, raising the threat of avalanches and closing high mountain passes.
Colorado Department of Transportation closed several mountain passes Friday for avalanche mitigation, with additional mitigation operations likely in the next week, said spokewoman Lisa Schwantes.
Travelers can expect lengthy delays of two hours or more and should allow for extra travel time. Current highway closure information is available at www.COtrip.org.
Highways will be closed so snow slides can be triggered and the fallen snow can be removed.
The closed highways are:
- U.S. Highway 550: Coal Bank, Molas and Red Mountain passes north of Durango, beginning at 1 p.m. Friday.
- Colorado Highway 145: Lizard Head Pass near Ophir, beginning at 1 p.m. Friday.
- U.S. Highway 160: Wolf Creek Pass, beginning at 6 a.m. Saturday.
The National Weather Service called for several feet of snow at higher elevations by early next week.
Friday, several inches of snow accumulated in Durango. Cortez received mostly rain.
The Weather Service upgraded its winter storm warning Friday morning, predicting 10 to 20 inches of new snow at lower elevations by 11 a.m. Christmas Day, and 2 to 3 feet of snow in the high San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado. Winds were expected to reach 45 mph, causing treacherous driving conditions with blowing snow, low visibility and slick roads.
By 11 a.m. Friday, the Weather Service reported nearly 16 inches of snow in the past 24 hours on Molas Pass. About 8 inches of the snowfall came in the previous six hours.
Fourteen inches of snow were reported at Wolf Creek pass on U.S. Highway 160.
Chain laws were in effect Friday for commercial vehicles on U.S. Highway 550 near Coal Bank Pass south of Silverton. Chains or alternative traction devices were required for all commercial motor vehicles including buses and vans with a capacity of 16 or more passengers.
Commercial chain laws also were in effect Friday morning in areas from south of Ouray to south of Silverton. Passenger vehicles are required to have mud or snow tires, use chains or traction devices or be a four-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicle.
Traction laws were in effect on Colorado Highway 145 at Lizard Head Pass near Ophir.
Friday morning there were 16 crashes in District 5A, said Master Trooper Gary Cutler with the Colorado State Patrol, which includes Montezuma, La Plata, Dolores, Archuleta, and San Juan counties.
Two of the crashes caused injuries, including one on Colorado Highway 84 in Archuleta County, and on Road 328 in La Plata County.
Three crashes occurred on U.S Highway 160, including one near Cherry Creek, Cutler said. Crashes also occurred on Colorado highways 145, 184 and 140, and on Florida Road (County Road 240).
Conditions on U.S. Highway 160 were wet and slushy in spots, with above-freezing temperatures near Hesperus Hill.
CDOT snowplow crews are out in “full force” for the storm, said spokeswoman Schwantes.
Starting Thursday, rotating shifts were implemented for 24-7 coverage to keep highways clear, she said. Two or three plows were assigned in each patrol area.
CDOT worked closely with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center to monitor avalanche risk on mountain road corridors.
The sudden increase in snowfall in the San Juan Mountains has created high risk for avalanches.
Backcountry hikers and skiers were advised to not park on the side of mountain highways in order to leave room for snowplows.
CDOT maintenance crews’ first priority is clearing the travel lanes of highways, Schwantes said. Crews then will clear the shoulders of the road and parking areas as time and resources permit.
“Please remember to park only in clearly marked and designated parking areas,” a CDOT news release said. “Anyone leaving a vehicle unattended on the side of the road, runs the risk of breaking the law, being fined, being plowed in, and having their vehicle towed away by law enforcement.”
Flights at Durango-La Plata Airport were expected to run on time, said Tony Vicari, director of aviation. The airport will continue to monitor the weather, but temperatures were above freezing, and he said he expected that pattern to continue Friday.
“As always, we encourage folks to arrive plenty early for their flight. At least 90 minutes early given the busyness of the holiday season,” he said Thursday.
At the Cortez Airport, Boutique Air delayed take-off of an early morning flight to Denver to 12:40 p.m. because of weather, according to an airline official. The 4:55 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. flights to Denver were still on schedule as of noon Friday.
The Weather Service said an eight- to 14-day forecast model shows above-average precipitation for the Four Corners, and an experimental forecast for three to four weeks shows the same.
An avalanche warning remained in effect Friday for the southern San Juans, and the level of risk to travelers was considered “high” – Level 4 on a scale of one to five.
“Wet, heavy snow and strong winds will push the snowpack to its breaking point today,” said Chris Bilbrey with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. “Natural avalanches are likely at all elevations. Travel in and around avalanche terrain is not recommended.”
“Northerly facing slopes are the most dangerous with weak, collapsible layers of snow lurking below thick slabs, CAIC said. ”The deeper the slide breaks, the more likely it is to bury, injure or kill you.”
CAIC advised travelers to avoid drifted snow on north, northeast and east aspects at higher elevations.
Ski areas reported new snow early Friday morning as Southwest Colorado entered Day 2 of the Christmas storm.
- Purgatory Resort announced early Friday that “winter has arrived like a lion,” bringing 8 inches of new snow by 5:30 a.m. It expects several feet of new snow by midweek. Seven of 12 lifts and 54 of 105 trails were open. Purgatory reported a 34-inch snow base.
- Hesperus Ski Area reported 6 inches of new snow and a 12-inch base. The ski area was closed Friday because of a power outage.
- Telluride Ski Resort reported 5 inches of new snow. The resort expected snow showers to continue until 2 p.m., then a mix of rain and snow, with up to 10 inches of new snow by the end of the day. Telluride reported 15 of 17 lifts, 78 of 148 runs and 38 of 148 groomed runs were open.
- Wolf Creek Ski Area reported 14 inches of new snow. Snow was 65 inches deep at the summit and 56 inches at midway.
