Denver city officials had read the weather forecasts and knew they were probably going to be dealing with one of the worst winter storms of the season so far when flakes began falling Sunday morning.
Predictions of up to 13 inches of snow and freezing temperatures through midweek could have been the start of a snow debacle — not the kind a departing mayor and an incoming one want to be associated with.
Officials called out the forces early Sunday. At one time, the city had up to 189 snowplows shoveling the streets Sunday and Monday — when a normal callout is 68 plows.
“We deployed the necessary staff and equipment to address the road conditions, and kept them on the roads throughout the storm,” said Denver Public Works spokeswoman Daelene Mix.
During Monday’s morning commute, some drivers wondered why there seemed to be so much snow still on the roads — particularly Broadway and Colorado Boulevard.
That was evidence of good plow work and street maintenance, Mix said.
“The snow was compacted from (Sunday’s) plowing, and the de-icing agents we applied are starting to break up that snowpack,” she said.
That mixture, combined with traffic and sunshine that thawed the packed snow, made for a sloppy commute in some areas.
“Drivers are encouraged to drive with caution and allow extra time to arrive at their destination,” she said, adding that cars should be stocked with “plenty of windshield wiper fluid.”
This morning is likely to be even trickier, as the overnight temperatures were expected to plunge below zero, icing up that melted snow.
Denver Public Schools plows its parking lots and coordinates with the city to handle the streets around the schools, said DPS spokesman Michael Vaughn.
Mix said city plows had scraped off the streets around most schools by midnight Sunday but snow had continued overnight before the second shift could get back to the schools by the Monday morning commute.
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com
