Impact of strong winds in latest winter storm lingers in El Paso County

A snowstorm similar to one that affected the Monument area last Friday pounded the rest of El Paso County late Monday night through Tuesday morning.

Both storms had strong winds but the latest storm affected a much wider area.

Snow reduced visibility and created snowdrifts that were enough to delay the arrival of some street and road crews.

Because of the situation, crews did little work in Calhan and Black Forest, which were among the county’s hardest hit areas.

“If we cleared a snowdrift, the wind just created another one and if we applied sand and salt, the wind just blew it away,” said Troy Wiitala, highway manager for El Paso County. “We decided to just wait until we could work more efficiently.”

Jay Fountain, a county plow driver, supports the decision.

“People may not like it or understand it,” he said. “But it’s all about safety. If we can’t see well enough to plow, then they’re in danger and so are we.”

The county and the Colorado Department of Transportation said they were surprised by the duration and intensity of the storm.

“We thought we were just going to get an inch or so at most,” Wiitala said. “That’s what we thought last Friday, too, and we got quite a bit of accumulation. We were just ready, no matter what.”

“Within the Palmer Divide and the eastern plains, this storm is what we expected,” said Michelle Puelen, of CDOT. “If you look at Colorado Springs, Pueblo and the southern mountains, it packed a little more punch than we thought it would.”

Both the county and CDOT have a full call-out of crews working 12-hour shifts overnight.

By Tuesday evening, Interstate 25 and most major routes were clear but others, such as stretches of Woodmen Road, still had considerable amounts of snow.

More snow is expected for the area Thursday.