Colorado Springs is bracing for heavy snow overnight, here’s how the city is preparing

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)-- As December rolls in over Colorado Springs, locals are in for a familiar swing between crisp afternoons and frosty nights, with a side of sunshine and a chance of snow.

Tonight, Dec. 2, we are bracing for snow overnight and speaking to officials to see what preparation is required to keep us safe.

Both El Paso County and the city of Colorado Springs say they’re up for the challenges ahead. Crews have been prepping all day by checking equipment, loading materials, and staffing up for what could be a tricky day of commuting ahead.

Both city and county officials tell KRDO13 they’ve been watching this system closely, and with snow expected for much of the overnight period, they’ve activated their full winter response teams.

"We've already scheduled our crews for midnight. We'll start our first shift, and crews will continue until the snow is done and will do the plowing in priority system, priority ones, two's and three's" says Tim Stickel, the El Paso County Division manager of highways.

Both the city and county say they’ll keep crews on rotation through the night, adjusting based on how much snow we end up seeing.

"All of our trucks are up, we have the capabilities of 65. Right now, our max capabilities for putting people in those trucks, our operators are right around 50, per shift, per 12-hour shift," said Cory Farkas, the City of Colorado Springs Operations and Maintenance Division Manager.

With some of the heaviest snowfall expected right around the morning drive, officials are urging drivers to plan ahead, leave early, and expect slick roads.

Reminding drivers to leave extra space behind plows, and saying even with crews working through the night, roads could still be slick before sunrise.

"The number one thing for us is we're out there today. We're pre-treating just our high-priority travel, our priority one roads in an effort to keep the bond between the ice and the snow and the roadway," said Stickel.

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