A soggy spring snowstorm blew into Colorado Wednesday, shutting down a stretch of Interstate 76 and postponing Rockies and Rapids games, but the storm didn’t appear to measure up to the “bomb cyclone” that ransacked the northeast corner of the state last month, marooning motorists and cutting power to tens of thousands.
Gov. Jared Polis decided Wednesday afternoon to activate the Colorado National Guard — including 50 soldiers and 24 tactical vehicles — to support rescues of stranded motorists and others who might need help during the storm, but some agencies were already starting to wind down operations by evening.
The Red Cross announced around 6 p.m. that several counties and cities had closed their warming and evacuation centers “due to a lack of severe weather activity.” And the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office tweeted that “BombCylone 2.0 was a bit of a bust…”
“The Douglas County Emergency Operations Center is closing down and we’re going home,” the agency tweeted just before 6 p.m.
There were flight cancellations at Denver International Airport Wednesday, but no runways were closed as was the case during last month’s storm. And whereas more than 200,000 customers in Colorado lost power during the March 13 storm, Xcel said only 1,000 customers were affected by Wednesday’s storm as of 6:30 p.m.
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“More than half of those are up near Fort Collins and Windsor,” Xcel spokesman Mark Stutz said. “Still a very low number.”
Late Wednesday night, Interstate 70 closed eastbound at Airpark Road in Aurora, and westbound in Limon, .
National Weather Service meteorologist Kyle Fredin said the metro area would likely get around 3 inches of snow from the storm, which he said was “a little weaker and quicker to move out” than the storm last month.
While sustained winds weren’t fierce enough to qualify the storm as a blizzard along the Front Range, Fredin said the eastern plains could see gusts of more than 50 mph with full blizzard conditions as the night wore on.
“They’re really going to get hit out there,” he said.
It wasn’t as if Wednesday’s storm didn’t pack a punch around the state. Traffic came to a standstill south of Castle Rock on southbound Interstate 25 Wednesday evening, according to the Colorado State Patrol. Meanwhile, the Colorado Department of Transportation reported “multiple vehicles” spinning out on Interstate 70 in the high country, prompting a safety closure at East Vail interchange.
In the southwest corner of the state, a Colorado State Patrol trooper’s car was struck by another car on U.S. 160. The trooper was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries while another driver was also taken to a hospital, authorities said.
In Denver’s Sunnyside neighborhood Wednesday afternoon, Mark Montoya lugged his groceries down Zuni Street, bracing himself against the whipping wind.
“Is this April or what?” Montoya said, looking around at the snow-covered lawns. “I’ve already put away my shovel for the year,” Montoya said. “I’m just going to let the snow melt.”
Down the block, postal worker Barb Matthews dropped mail off at a coffee shop, walking briskly back to her van for the next round of deliveries.
“I’m kind of tired of this weather,” she said. “It slows us down.”
But the mail must go on. Matthews pointed to a duffel bag full of gear in the trunk of her USPS truck — gloves, hats, snow cleats and extra layers for when the weather gets really rough.
“I know better than to believe the snow’s done by April,” she said. “But it’d be nice if it were summer.”
Rain began turning over to snow in the metro area in the early to mid-afternoon, creating mostly wet roads for commuters making their way home. But CDOT wasn’t waiting for travel conditions to become treacherous before taking action.
During a conference call Wednesday afternoon, Kyle Lester, maintenance director for CDOT, said the agency would be more proactive about closing interstates and major highways than it had been during the bomb cyclone last month. During that storm, hundreds of motorists were stranded as deteriorating conditions made roads impassable.
This time, CDOT said it would stage crews at key points, such as Monument Hill on I-25. One lesson learned in March, Lester said, was the need to close roads faster. Lester recognized travelers and truck drivers will be upset but he said “it is the right thing to do.”
CDOT did close 150 miles of I-76, from Lochbuie to the Nebraska state line, late Wednesday afternoon due to worsening conditions. The closure came as the National Weather Service warned that some areas in the northeastern part of the state could get an inch of snow per hour.
“Reopening is up to Mother Nature,” the state patrol tweeted.
Lester said 43 plows have been deployed on the I-70 mountain corridor, and 100 plows would be clearing streets in the metro area. Roads were not pre-treated because the snow was preceded by rain, which would have washed the chemicals away.
Out at Denver International Airport, flight cancellations mounted as the storm moved in. Approximately 750 flights had been nixed by Wednesday afternoon, while 72 were delayed, according to airport spokeswoman Mindy Crane.
All afternoon, local governments announced they would close offices early. The Arapahoe County Road and Bridge Division closed Cherry Creek Dam Road Wednesday afternoon because of weather conditions.
Meanwhile, at the state legislature, a House bill to make it illegal to pass snowplows during a storm had people slated to testify. But most of them were CDOT drivers, who were out on the road preparing for a blizzard. The measure, HB-1265, passed unanimously from the House Transportation and Local Government Committee.
