COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Colorado Springs deployed its fleet of 55 snowplows as a winter storm brought wintry conditions to the area, with city crews responding as temperatures dropped and snow began to accumulate.
As of Tuesday evening around rush hour, conditions at Woodmen Road and Black Forest Road, an example of an area the city says it's targeting for snow removal, showed wet, rainy weather rather than snow, with leaves still on the trees.
City Public Works said it opted against pre-treating roads ahead of the storm. Officials said the wet conditions on the ground could have combined with the pre-treatment solution to have the opposite effect, making roads more slick rather than safer.
Despite a quieter-than-usual season, Colorado Springs Public Works Operations Manager Corey Farkas said crews were fully prepared.
"This is only our seventh event of the season from October of last year to now. I think at this time last year, we were probably at 18. It's been very quiet, but it is business as usual," said Farkas.
The city classified the storm as a "warmer" system, meaning snowplows focused primarily on clearing a slushier type of snow from roads before it had a chance to freeze over.
Farkas said the timing of the storm gave crews flexibility to respond effectively.
"With this storm the way it is, with the wet roads, we would have plenty of time to get out, and, when things start to freeze up a little bit, be able to get our granular de-icer down and take care of that," said Farkas.
The city recommended residents limit travel to only what was necessary during the storm and into the following morning. Those who needed to drive were urged to leave extra time, drive carefully, and give snowplows as much space as possible.
___
___
Why budget flights are hard to find at Colorado Springs Airport and what's being done
The shutdown of Spirit Airlines is sending ripple effects through the airline industry.
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
