Thursday brings third snowfall in a week for Monument area
A snowstorm in the Monument area Thursday did not bring strong wind, heavy snowfall or major traffic impacts as two previous storms in the past week did.
Snow began falling around 10 a.m., reducing visibility to a mile or less, but skies cleared two hours later.
“A small storm with no major impacts, that’s what we like,” said Brad Bauer, a supervisor with the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Bauer said crews finished their response to Tuesday’s blizzard before responding to the latest storm.
“We’re all done and will be ready for the next storm Monday,” he said.
Still, despite the mildness of the storm, drivers faced some challenges.
“We were driving down from Denver and (my friend) ran out of windshield wiper fluid,” said Nick Kolenda. “We thought we could make it down to the Springs, but it was just unbearable. It was getting too dangerous.”
The two friends filled their fluid reservoir before continuing on.
Hellen Capilla, who lives in New Mexico and grew up in Texas, said Thursday was her first time driving in snow.
“I’ve never slid before” she said. “I have a front-wheel drive Honda Civic with tires that aren’t for winter.”
Neil Johnson was driving from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs.
“You guys have had more snow here than we’ve had back home,” he said.
At least one person, however, isn’t tired of the snowy weather.
“We had it all the time back home in Russia,” said Anna Tarassova, who lives in Colorado. “We got much more snow there than you do here. We played in it all the time. But I guess it’s not fun if you don’t know how to drive in it.”
Only an inch or two of snow fell in the area Thursday but piles and layers of ice and snow remain.
Authorities advise people to watch for melting ice and snow refreezing overnight.
