Bitter cold continued to plague Colorado on Sunday, bursting water pipes, icing up the highways and endangering homeless people.
Temperatures did not rise above 11 degrees in the Denver metro area Sunday and were expected to be between -5 to -11 overnight.
Although only one to two inches of snow fell in the metro area on Sunday, many Coloradans are weary from three back-to-back storms.
There is still snow and ice on the ground from the Christmas blizzard, the Dec. 29 blizzard and the third storm Jan. 5.
“We might see a little melting when the sun comes out, but not a lot,” said Jim Kalina, meteorologist for the National Weather Service.
A total of two to five inches of snow fell in the metro area from Thursday to Sunday, Kalina said.
There won’t be any snow today and the high is expected to be 19 degrees, Kalina said.
Through the week, daytime temperatures will stay in the 20s and increase to the 30s, but overnight conditions will remain brisk in the 4 to 14 degree range.
At the Denver Rescue Mission, the doors have remained open 24 hours a day since Thursday so homeless people have a place to stay.
Normally, the mission has 200 beds full every night, but since the temperatures went into the single digits, the mission has added 100 cots and 30 additional mats for people to sleep on. On Saturday night, 317 people came in for shelter.
“It’s important to keep everyone safe and alive,” said Greta Walker, spokeswoman for the Denver Rescue Mission.
At the National Western Stock Show in Denver, 40-year-old Mike Cox of Brighton and his wife, Jennifer, braved the cold and slippery roads.
“It’s not bad. They did a pretty good job on the roads, but you can still turn it over if you are not careful,” Cox said.
On Saturday afternoon, weather contributed to a 17-car pileup on Interstate 70 in Garfield County.
Seven people were taken to two hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to serious.
Alica Harrison, 23, of Clifton, was traveling eastbound on the highway when she lost control of a silver Dodge Stratus, causing the other vehicles to collide, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
Harrison was driving too fast for road conditions, authorities said. She was cited for careless driving causing injury.
Of the seven injured in the pile-up, 16-year-old Adrianne Rangel of Golden was the most seriously injured and was taken by ambulance to Vail Valley Hospital.
The eastbound side of the highway was closed for three and a half hours so troopers could investigate the crash.
In Commerce City, about 85 residents of Poplar Grove nursing home were evacuated Saturday when a water pipe burst, impacting the building’s electrical system, said Josett Valdez, response coordinator for the American Red Cross.
“We provided them with cots and blankets and they had their own evacuation plan set up,” Valdez said.
Frigid temperatures are also blamed for a hypothermia death that occurred this week in Montezuma County.
The body of a 76-year-old Richard Sell of Cortez was found by a search team on Wednesday. He had been reported missing on Tuesday.
Sell had abandoned his truck that was stuck and ventured into the outdoors.
Sell’s dog, found near him, survived.
Staff writer Christopher N. Osher and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-954-1219 or at fcardona@denverpost.com.
