{"id":15402,"date":"2025-12-03T21:44:33","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T04:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/low-elevation-storm-impacts-driving-flights-in-southwest-colorado\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:47:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:47:50","slug":"low-elevation-storm-impacts-driving-flights-in-southwest-colorado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/low-elevation-storm-impacts-driving-flights-in-southwest-colorado\/","title":{"rendered":"Low-elevation storm impacts driving, flights in Southwest Colorado"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Roadways
Roadways covered in snow, slush and ice made for dicey driving conditions on Wednesday morning. (Scout Edmondson\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Several inches of snow blanketed Durango on Wednesday morning, and while it turned town into a winter wonderland, it also made for tricky driving conditions as road surfaces were covered in packed snow, slush and ice.<\/p>\n

Colorado Department of Transportation spokesperson Adair Christensen said the storm, which blew in during the wee hours of Wednesday, was the first major storm of the 2025-26 season to impact low-elevation areas like Durango. Because of that, she urged drivers to be extra cautious and mindful with challenging road conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cMake sure you have good tires with adequate traction \u2013 that\u2019s going to help you out along the highways when there\u2019s slick or adverse winter conditions,\u201d Christensen said. \u201cMake sure the driving conditions are something you\u2019re comfortable in. \u2026 If you do choose to leave your house in the brunt of the storm, take it slow. Give yourself plenty of extra travel time and leave plenty of following distance behind other vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Traffic
Traffic moves slowly Tuesday on U.S. Highway 550\/160 as snow starts to fall. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A man runs across U.S. Highway 550\/160 in Durango on Wednesday morning as snow falls. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A cow continues to graze as snow falls Wednesday in La Plata County. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Christensen advised potential travelers to check cotrip.org<\/a> before leaving the safety of home for up-to-date weather and road conditions, as well as a map where travelers can track snowplows<\/a> in real time as they work to clear roads. She also urged drivers following snowplows to give them three to four car lengths of room.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of our snowplows have new mud flaps that say \u2018stay back 50 feet,\u2019\u201d Christensen said. \u201cIf motorists can read that, they\u2019re probably not far enough back behind the plow. And if you can help it, just don\u2019t ever pass the plow, especially on the right. Be patient and let them get the road cleared and do their job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gillian Felton, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said this round of snowfall is expected to end Thursday morning. However, she said, snowfall will likely intensify as the storm wears on through Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings should really start picking up throughout the day Wednesday, and that\u2019ll continue through the afternoon and into the evening hours before things start to slow down and then eventually come to an end in the overnight hours,\u201d Felton said.<\/p>\n

\"A
A horse and a donkey feed on hay as snow falls Wednesday in La Plata County. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A man works to clear snow outside the Smiley Building on Wednesday morning. (Scout Edmondson\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A sculpture outside the Smiley Building during Wednesday\u2019s snowstorm. (Scout Edmondson\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Once the system moves out of the area, things should remain dry, with temperatures trending warmer through the end of the week before another shot of snow arrives over the weekend, Felton said. That system is expected to mostly impact the San Juan Mountains north of Durango.<\/p>\n

Tony Vicari, director of aviation at the Durango-La Plata Airport, said the snow had not thrown a wrench in the airport\u2019s operations, though some flights coming from Denver were delayed due to similar snowy weather there. One flight coming in from the Mile High City had to turn around due to poor visibility before landing in Durango, but otherwise every scheduled flight had made it in as of Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur airport storm removal crews were able to maintain the runway without any issue,\u201d Vicari said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had several delays that have been attributed to some delays coming out of Denver.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vicari said anyone flying out of Durango should monitor communications from their airlines, who are the main decision-makers behind whether a flight takes off in adverse weather. Additionally, arriving at the airport with ample time, even if a delay is advertised, is important to a smooth travel day.<\/p>\n

\"A
A snow-covered plane at the Durango-La Plata Airport Wednesday morning. Crews and airlines did not see major hickups in their operations due to the snow, other than weather delays in Denver. (Courtesy of Durango-La Plata Airport)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cJust frequently check with your airline on flight times, as the airport doesn\u2019t control flight decisions delays or cancellations directly, as most of those are decisions made by the airline, and oftentimes forced by the weather conditions,\u201d Vicari said. \u201cWe always tell people to make sure they\u2019re coming to the airport sufficiently early.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, \u201cpacking patience\u201d and being understanding toward airline and airport staff makes everyone\u2019s life easier, Vicari said.<\/p>\n

Christensen and Felton advised anyone planning on driving in the snow to carry emergency food, water and layers. Christensen said having a full tank of gas and driving with high-beams on for visibility are important safety precautions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important through the winter season to pack those safety essentials in your car,\u201d Christensen said. \u201cYou never know when the conditions are going to change, or if there happens to be a highway closure or crash that keeps you idling along the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

sedmondson@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"No
No snow days for trash removal and other essential services, even with dicey driving conditions on Wednesday morning. (Scout Edmondson\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A wet U.S. Highway 550 south of Durango as snow falls on Wednesday morning. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A parking enforcement agent walks down Main Avenue in Wednesday's snowstorm. (Scout Edmondson\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Buckley
Buckley Park was blanketed in 2 inches of snow Wednesday morning. (Scout Edmondson\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Snow
Snow falls Wednesday on U.S. Highway 160 in the Grandview area. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Officials urge drivers to check weather, road conditions and be prepared<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[576,28,1164,1469,994,414],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-15402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-colorado-department-of-transportation","tag-headlines","tag-snow","tag-travel-and-commuting","tag-trueanthem","tag-weather"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15402"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19639,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15402\/revisions\/19639"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15402"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=15402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}