Winds Die Down, Travel Resumes in S.E. Colorado

Despite winds ranging between 45mph to 65mph in portions of southeast Colorado this past Friday, January 11, there was considerably less dust in the air from a similar wind storm almost two months ago on November 10.  Recent snows and moisture around Christmas and New Year’s helped limit airborne dust during the day of high wind warnings for this corner of the state.  While portions of the Front Range had to contend with inches of snow, southeast Colorado residents dealt with highway closings and overturned trash containers and some early school dismissals.

 

 

Schools in Lamar closed early and sport events were also postponed as travel restrictions on major highways closed traffic for a period.  Highway 50 between Lamar and La Junta and between Pueblo and Rocky Ford was closed.  Highway 287 between Lamar and Springfield was also closed for a while due to limited visibility.  A row of semi’s and other vehicles lined the highway between Lamar Community College and the southern edge of Spreading Antlers Golf Course, as drivers waited for word they could resume their travel.   Highway 96 between Sugar City and Eads was also closed to traffic for a period because of zero visibility.

 

 

The Colorado State Patrol reported that there was an overturned semi on Highway 50 and several other collissions had occured due to strong winds and limited visibility, but no reports of injuries from those accidents had been posted as of this article.  By 4:30pm, as predicted by the National Weather Service, the storm front had moved away from southeast Colorado leaving in its wake considerably colder temperatures that registered below freezing through the weekend.

by Russ Baldwin