Plows Will Lead Morning Rush In Pueblo/Fremont Counties

PUEBLO – Heavy, wet snow covered roads throughout Pueblo and Fremont Counties, but didn’t cause any major traffic accidents. Canon City Police were one of the agencies responding to some minor fender benders.

Many cities and counties had treated their streets before the storm, or had plows on the roads throughout the storm.

The City of Pueblo will have 10 plows on the road for the Tuesday morning’s rush hour, plowing and laying sand. The plows will focus on Northern, Prairie, Elizabeth and parts of Santa Fe. Pueblo road crews actually put down magnesium chloride on overpasses and shady areas, before the snow started Monday. That was put down to help snow from sticking and ice from forming.

Pueblo County wasn’t planning any plows on the road until 3 a.m. Tuesday. Conditions weren’t considered serious enough before then. After 3 a.m., 35 plows will be on county roads.

In Fremont County, road crews reported up to 5-inches of snow by 9 p.m. Monday. However, only 3-to-5 plows were on priority roads through the evening. Those roads included McCumber Hill, High Park, Dosier, McKenzie, Ash and Copper Gulch. For Tuesday morning’s rush hour, there should be 20 plows on the road.

For those of you planning on shoveling in the morning, even though the temperatures won’t be bitter cold, you don’t want to bundle up too much. If you do bundle up and start to sweat, that can lead to faster hypothermic symptoms.

“You don’t want to get overheated,” says Parkview Emergency Room Dr. Earl Campbell. “If you do get overheated and sweaty, then with the wind blowing, that may lead to a chill faster and can decrease your core temperature faster.”

“Some people can actually overdress to go outside and shovel snow, depends on how long you’re going to be out,” says Dr. Campbell. “Somebody who’s used to a sedentary lifestyle, they spend a lot of time on the couch, watching TV, they don’t move around very much, they may have a hard time if they’re trying to over exert themselves,” says Dr. Campbell.

If you’re still going to be outside, but are trying to warm up, you want to avoid hot coffee and alcohol. Both can increase your body’s ability to give off heat.