Sub-zero temperatures and ice have stymied city road crews as they continue cleanup efforts after an “extraordinary storm” dumped almost a foot of snow on the Cortez area since Thursday.
“Be patient,” public works director Phil Johnson said on Monday. “We’re doing all that we can.”
Johnson said more than a dozen city employees worked over the weekend to continue clearing municipal roadways of snow and ice.
“Our main focus this week is removing all of the piles of snow,” said Johnson. “We’re running all six plows.”
The snow started to fall in Cortez just after 9 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 7. Within the first hour, more than 3 inches accumulated.
“This is an extraordinary storm,” said Cortez weather watcher Jim Andrus. “It even caught the National Weather Service off-guard. They had to update their winter storm advisory to a winter storm warning.” That winter weather warning expired at 5 p.m. Friday.
Andrus said this storm season was the worst since 2010, when he measured a total of 74.8 inches.
Overnight Friday, a total of 9.4 inches of snow was dumped on Cortez. A total of 13.9 inches of snowfall has fallen for the month. “I measured 18 inches of snow this morning,” Andrus said on Friday. Since November, 44 inches of snow has fallen in Cortez, he said.
The city of Cortez was “throwing everything we got” at the storm on Friday, according to Dona Thompson, administrative assistant at the Public Works department. Crews hit the streets about midnight Thursday, and reinforcements joined them at 2 a.m. Friday. Thompson added that crews had their hands full, and that one plow was stuck on South Oak Street about 9:20 a.m. Friday.
City crews continued to plow streets according to its priority of Main Street, Mildred Road and Empire Street, followed by streets around schools, the downtown area and residential areas. The public works department is responsible for plowing 53 miles of paved and 3 miles of unpaved roads within city limits.
By Monday morning, city crews had cleared Main and Pinon streets of snow that was pushed toward turn lanes and curbs.
Sub-zero temperatures overnight have made the work more difficult, Johnson said, adding that crews would start snow and ice removal between 9 and 10 a.m. and take advantage of sunny afternoons. Once cleared, city crews dump the snow and ice piles near the intersection of Seventh and Sligo streets.
About 9 a.m. Friday, there was a report of an accident between a Roadrunner passenger bus and a car on Colorado 145 at mile marker 31. The car’s air bag reportedly deployed. Rescue crews were on scene by 9:45 a.m. The bus engine was damaged when it was rear-ended. According to reports, the bus had pulled over to repair a flat tire when it was hit, according to reports. A van was dispatched to pick up stranded passengers.
The Montezuma-Cortez, Dolores and Mancos school districts closed school on Friday, Jan. 8 because of heavy snowfall and adverse driving conditions. Fort Lewis College also closed.
M-CHS principal Dr. Jason Wayman announced that all games and events for Friday were canceled.
Dolores athletic director Jimmie Lankford announced Friday that Dolores activities scheduled for Saturday would continue as planned. On Thursday, Dolores schools, Fort Lewis College, and Durango, Bayfield and Ignacio schools also canceled classes, and Montezuma-Cortez schools canceled after-school activities.
Snowplow drivers with the Colorado Department of Transportation said it was a warmer snow, making it easier to push around and scratch pavement. But that also meant that black could develop when the temperatures fell, said Nancy Shanks, spokeswoman with CDOT.
“This storm exceeded expectations,” Shanks said Friday morning. CDOT crews are working round the clock in staggered 8-hour and 12-hour shifts. Lizard Head Pass remained open, but slick roads Friday morning in Durango caused a semi-trailer to jack-knife at Camino Del Rio and Main Avenue, briefly closing the road.
“The San Juan Mountains, Southwest Colorado and southeast Utah were the big beneficiaries of this little system,” said Aldis Strautins, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction. “Congratulations, if you like snow.”
The winter storm warning was in effect until 5 p.m. Friday. A winter storm warning means that a significant amount of snow is expected or is occurring. Travel may be hazardous or impossible.
The snow might stick around for a while because of low temperatures.
Through Friday, Jan. 15, the National Weather Service’s forecast called for high temperatures in the low to mid-30s, lows about 10 degrees, mostly sunny skies and little chance of precipitation.
The Durango Herald contributed to this story.