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November 27, 2001
All things considered, area residents have a lot to be thankful for following the Thanksgiving weather bonanza. Significant snow accumulation Sunday evening kept the Colorado State Patrol hopping from one accident to the next, but there were no serious injuries resulting from the treacherous road conditions, according to CSP Sgt. Ted Griffith. "With the storm we were basically going from one (accident) to another most of the day," Griffith said Monday. "But a lot of them were not accidents, they were just people who slid off the road. We had a lot of minor wrecks." The National Weather Service out of Grand Junction recorded less than a half-inch of precipitation in the Cortez area from the weekend storm, which is equivalent to approximately 3-4 inches of snow, according to meteorology technician Dan Cuevas. "There was lots of snow in the high country and cold temperatures across the Four Corners," Cuevas said of the weekend’s weather. La Plata County received more snow than Cortez, with half a foot of snow falling in Durango Sunday, according to the Durango Herald. The San Juan Mountains received as much as a foot of snow in places Sunday, according to Chris Cuoco, senior forecaster with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction. In Cortez, temperatures dipped into the single digits Monday morning, making the drive to work a dangerous endeavor. Although area roads were mostly dry by Monday afternoon, don’t put away the snow chains yet, Cuevas suggested. "Conditions are expected to improve today but it continues to be cold," Cuevas said. A chance of snow flurries is expected through Wednesday with another snow system moving in by Thursday. The storm is expected to extend through Friday evening with winds that may eventually warm temperatures. "Just about everywhere was getting slammed with the storm," Griffith said of the hazardous road conditions over the weekend. Griffith estimated that there were at least nine or 10 accidents Sunday night but final reports were not available as of press time Monday. A storm system that hit the area over the Thanksgiving holiday also brought about a number of minor crashes as well, according to the Colorado State Patrol: • On Nov. 21, the night before the holiday, James A. Vavra was cited for driving while ability impaired, according to the Colorado State Patrol. Vavra, 37, was traveling on County Road 30 around 10 p.m. when he lost control of his vehicle and veered off the road. Vavra’s vehicle flipped once, landing upright. Passenger Linda Vavra suffered a broken arm and was transported to Southwest Memorial Hospital. • On Thanksgiving an Isuzu station wagon carrying six occupants slid off Colorado Highway 145 and crashed onto a large boulder. The driver, Don J. Arthur of Arizona, was cited for careless driving, according to Colorado State Trooper Don Sheppard. Injuries were minor. No seat belts were being worn, according to the state patrol.
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Copyright © 2001 the Cortez
Journal. All rights reserved. |
