Southern Colorado braces for blast of extremely cold weather through weekend
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Many residents will be scrambling over the next two days to ensure that they're ready for the weekend cold snap that will bring low temperatures of between zero and -10 degrees from Saturday night through Tuesday night.
A spokesman for AAA Colorado said Wednesday that all of its member auto technicians will be busy helping customers prepare their vehicles: checking batteries, tires, heaters and other necessities.
But authorities also advise residents to supplement auto supplies such as jumper cables and wiper fluid with an emergency cold weather kit, for cold weather protection in case your vehicle breaks down and you're stranded for an extended period of time.
The Pikes Peak Regional Office of Emergency Management (PPROEM) provides an emergency preparedness and safety guide that you can download here: https://pproem.com/emergency-preparedness-safety-guide.
Essentially, you want to have extra materials to keep you warm and supply you with food and water. You also should have a fully-charged cell phone to call for help, a working flashlight with extra batteries, and tools that allow you to remove ice and snow from your vehicle and keep it running.
With snow part of the weekend forecast, Colorado Springs provides a list of safe driving tips for winter conditions; you can find it here: https://coloradosprings.gov/winterdriving.
A similar blast of frigid weather hit southern Colorado last January and prompted similar warnings and preparations; there also was a focus on checking on people experiencing homelessness, providing transportation to shelters and temporarily increasing shelter space.
KRDO 13's The Road Warrior spoke with two drivers Thursday who admitted that they rarely, if ever, consider having an emergency kit.
"I just don't think about it until it's too late," said Cindy Pacheco. "So, I should. I mean. I have extra gloves, but that's about it.
Mike St. Marie said that his car once broke down in sub-freezing temperatures but a passing driver stopped to help him.
"I don't know, I never thought (a kit) was important enough, I suppose," he confessed. "It's never happened to me."
Andrew Notbohm, PPROEM's executive director, said that being stranded in extremely cold weather for long periods is potentially life-threatening.
"This is the second year in a row we've had these historic temperatures over MLK weekend," he said. "When it gets this cold, it's honestly a matter of minutes before you have frostbite and have exposure to the elements."
Area street and road crews also are gearing up for the approaching weather conditions; Andrew Hayes, Pueblo public works director, released the following statement Wednesday:
"We are expecting to have our plow crews split for 24-hour operations starting on Friday morning. They will be preparing bridges, ramps, and other trouble areas as much as possible before the weather starts. The extremely cold temperatures we are anticipating will limit the effectiveness of deicing materials that are applied, so snow and ice will remain on the roads for longer periods until warmer temperatures return. We would like to remind drivers to stay off the roads if possible once the weather arrives and to use extreme caution when driving on snow-packed or icy roads. The plow crews will remain on the split shifts until road conditions warrant a return to normal operations."
