We Got Wind, They Got Snow

Highway 287/385 Southbound Shows Little Snow on the Ground, But Visibility is Still Limits Visibility

Hopes for a wetter or whiter Christmas went unanswered this past Wednesday, December 19, with only a little snow and a lot of wind and dust combined.

Gusts approached 60mph in parts of southeast Colorado and the blowing snow reduced visibility to the point that Highway 70 between Limon and Kansas was temporarily closed to traffic, as was Highway 287 north out of Eads and state highway 59 linking Seibert to Kit Carson. It wasn’t all that hard to figure out which was the wind was blowing, as some of the downtown Christmas decorations in Lamar pointed the way. Some of the wreaths encompassing the sidewalk light poles were pushed back southwards from the gusts rushing in from the north.

Several Decorations Had the Same New Feature, a Southerly Slant from the Winds

Although the stretch of highway 287/385 remained open to traffic on Wednesday afternoon, the limited visibility made for slow, cautious driving as witnessed to several vehicles rolling into Lamar adjacent to the Spreading Antlers Golf Course.

Just trace amounts of snow fell, usually horizontally, in Prowers County and most of the snow that remained was mixed with dust, producing a light tan color in yards and on curbs and sidewalks. The weatherman is predicting a chance of snow on Christmas Day, between 20% to 30%, not good odds for any accumulation. The only upside is that for those of us staying home for the holidays, we won’t be stuck in an airport, spending Christmas in a terminal, watching the display screens tell us our flight is still cancelled.

By Russ Baldwin