Feb 14, 2008 1:15 pm US/Mountain
Snowy Valentine's Day Slows Drive Across Colorado
DENVER (CBS4) ―
-
-
Traffic at Leetsdale and Monaco in Denver Thursday morning while it was snowing.
CBS
The streets of downtown Denver were wet Thursday afternoon after as a storm swept through Colorado, bringing up to a foot or more of accumulation to the southern parts of the state. The Valentine's Day commute around Denver was a little slow in the morning with up to 8 inches predicted along some parts of the Front Range. The weather also caused some power outages around Denver.
Xcel Energy spokeswoman Ethnie Groves says about 7,500 people were without power at the height of power outages. About 2,900 customers were in the dark by midmorning.
One outage had Arapahoe Road closed in the area of Interstate 25, which meant the exits were closed.
Xcel officials say ice on power lines can cause outages when it melts off, snapping them and causing a phenomenon called galloping that can cause loose connections.
Magnesium chloride that's used to melt ice on roads also builds up in transformers, which can lead to pole fires.
The entire Front Range, including the lower elevations along Interstate 25, were all under a blowing snow advisory until mid afternoon. Higher elevations in the foothills were under the advisory until 6 p.m. The Denver metro area is forecast to get a total of 3-7 inches of snow before the end of Thursday. Winds will be out of the north at 15 to 25 mph during the day.
Higher amounts will fall south and west of Denver with smaller amounts north and east. Up to 10 inches could fall in the mountains above 9,000 feet.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the south central and southwestern parts of the state for most of Thursday.
Saguache County east of the Continental Divide and the eastern San Jan Mountains could see more than 20 inches of new snow by the end of the day tomorrow.
There is also a blowing snow advisory for the central, western and northern Colorado mountains.
Meanwhile, about 50 miles southwest of Denver, Park County was still under a state of emergency as officials worried the new snow could undo the progress made on clearing dozens of miles of roads of ice that trapped about a 100 residents in their homes. Earlier in the week, high winds pushed snow into drifts 24 feet high.
North-West Fire Protection District Chief Mike Roll, said the state and surrounding counties used heavy equipment to clear about 150 miles of roadway. About 3 inches of snow fell overnight Thursday, which were whipped into snowdrifts.
Roll said the new snow may have undone some of their work.
Rescue teams had delivered essential items such as food, medicine and other supplies to about 45 residents.
Snow comes to an end in the evening around Denver with partly cloudy skies forming overnight and lows in the teens.
Friday will be dry and sunny with highs in the lower 40s.
The weekend appears to bring another chance for snow Saturday into Sunday.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Closings & Delays
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments