In a show of true Colorado colors, multiple main thoroughfares are closed due to the weather
I-70 Closes Due to Dust Storm and Crashes
Early Friday morning, the NWS in Pueblo tweet out that there was a dust storm warning issued for the southeast Corner of colorado.
This dust storm is being caused thanks to a strong low-pressure system that is bringing blizzard conditions to the Midwest. Here in Colorado, our impact is very strong northerly winds in the excess of 60mph. Since it’s been so dry out, the ground is full of dust and when a wind of this strength occurs, all of that dust goes flying.
This is what the dust storm looked like from above.
This is what it looked like on the ground in Cheyenne Wells, Colorado
Low visibility caused several crashes along I-70 including an accident that caused a fatality.
Colorado State Patrol has shut down I-70 with no estimate of reopening.
Dust storms are extremely dangerous for this reason exactly. Though it’s hard to forecast this type of event, there was still some warning from the National Weather Service that dust may get picked up in today’s winds.
US-285 Closes Due To Ground Blizzard
And this isn’t the only road seeing closures due to wild weather.
US-285 has been closed most of Friday thanks to those same strong winds. But instead picking up loose dust, the wind is picking up loose snow particles and are creating a ground blizzard with extremely poor visibility.
The wind along US-285 has caused multiple semis to blow over as well leading to even more frustration in today’s events.
The weather turns calmer this weekend as the wind will subside as we see a lull in the action. For more updates on road closures, follow CDOT on twitter.
This is a developing story. Check CDOT on twitter for current updates.
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