Quick snowstorm to strike Rockies

Areas of heavy snowfall, whiteout conditions

Tractor-trailers on snowy Colorado highway.

(Photo: Colorado DOT)

Heavy snowfall will make a beeline toward the Four Corners region Wednesday night. Truckers may run into temporary delays, especially in the southern Rockies.

The storm will initially bring much-needed rainfall to parts of southern California Wednesday. As the storm moves into the colder inland, the rain will change to snow.

From Wednesday night into Thursday, snowfall totals of 5 to 10 inches will blanket high elevations of the San Juan Mountains, from southern Colorado to northern New Mexico. Some isolated locations could see 12 inches. The San Juan Mountains are part of the Rockies.

Wind gusts will reach 40 mph in some areas. So blowing snow may produce occasional whiteout conditions.


This storm will impact travel on U.S. Highway 550, known as the Million Dollar Highway, as well as U.S. highways 84 and 160. Some tricky spots include Silverton, Rico and Hesperus, Colorado, and  Chama, New Mexico.

The storm should fade Thursday afternoon, so it will be a fairly quick hitter. This will make any delays in shipments through the region rather minor.

Meanwhile, parts of the central Rockies in Colorado, in addition to the Wasatch Range in Utah, will see light to moderate snowfall.

Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Nick Austin.


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