U.S. Highway 550 at Red Mountain Pass was forced to close Friday morning because of avalanche danger, and though crews were able to get the road open by the afternoon, winter storms aren’t done with Southwest Colorado quite yet.
Lisa Schwantes, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation, said Friday morning that road crews reported areas with an estimated 16 inches of new snow from the winter storms this week.
As a result, the high mountain pass between Silverton and Ouray was closed so CDOT crews could intentionally set several avalanche paths at risk of sliding.
“The paths are the usual suspects on Red Mountain that tend to accumulate snow,” she said. “Especially with the winds we had last night, they were concerned with blowing snow accumulating on those runs.”
Though the road was reopened as of 5 p.m. Friday, chain and traction laws remained in effect for Coal Bank, Molas and Red Mountain passes.
According to CDOT, chain or alternative traction devices are required for all commercial vehicles, including buses and vans with a capacity for 16 or more people.
Passenger vehicles are required to have snow or mud/snow tires, use chains or alternative traction devices or have a four-wheel-drive/all-wheel-drive vehicle.
The National Weather Service in Grand Junction said there should be a brief respite Saturday, just before another series of winter storms hit the region Sunday into next week.
Snow showers are expected to pick back up in the high country of the San Juan Mountains after noon Sunday. The chance of snow then lingers until at least Friday, according to the NWS.
In Durango, there’s the chance of precipitation, but it’s unclear if any snow will accumulate.
Southwest Colorado’s ski mountains reported some positive new snow totals this week.
Purgatory Resort said it received 11 new inches of snow in the past four days. Wolf Creek Ski Area reported 15 new inches in the past week. And Silverton Mountain, an expert terrain ski area, said it received 22 inches of new snow in the past 24 hours.
jromeo@durangoherald.com