SOUTHERN COLORADO – Strong winds across southern Colorado made travel a little challenging for drivers Sunday evening.
Drivers said high winds, which ranged from 30 to 45 miles per hour, forced them to take it a little slower and be hyper aware of their surroundings to avoid a worst case scenario.
These conditions led CDOT to issue a high wind warning in El Paso, Pueblo, Teller and Fremont County.
CDOT asked drivers of high profile vehicles like semi-trucks to be cautious.
A driver behind the wheel of one of these trucks told News 5 it’s easy to see why.
“I felt the whole side of the truck lift up,” said Kevin White. “I’m empty right now and I can definitely feel it. So, if you’re going to be going over these passes, you definitely gotta be careful.”
And when sharing the road with other cars, they have to be careful, too.
“Little cars that are the victims,” White explained. “You know, because they don’t realize that sometimes you will get blown to the side and you will go over a lane.”
But one family traveling in mini van says they do realize it and think about it “all the time.”
“I told [the driver] like there’s like a big truck so like move lanes so we’re trying to like, stay away from them,” said Belen Rivera.
They traveled here from Keystone Ski Resort, where the wind wasn’t the only problem.
“[It was] really bad, like the wind and the ice,” Rivera said. “We couldn’t see because of the snow, it started snowing. We couldn’t see anything.”
East of the Front Range, the gusts didn’t knock down anyone’s travel plans.
“Everything’s great!” exclaimed White.
By 8 p.m. on Sunday, CDOT had lifted those high wind warnings. The good news is you won’t see much high wind on Monday, with winds maxing out at 30 miles per hour.
