Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Two cars crashed in separate incidents in cold, wet weather Thursday morning in the canyon area west of Milner on U.S. Highway 40. No major injuries resulted from the crashes, but traffic was blocked for a short time, and one woman was taken to the hospital after losing consciousness.

Colorado State Patrol Tro­­oper Brady Kobus said the first crash happened at about 5:30 a.m. when a 27-year-old Hayden woman driving east lost control of her Jeep near mile marker 114 and crashed into the cliff face on the side of the road. The woman had no injuries but was ticketed for careless driving, Kobus said.

A 20-year-old Craig woman driving west reportedly fell asleep at the wheel shortly before 9 a.m. and veered into a guardrail and back into the cliff face at mile marker 117. The woman was knocked unconscious, and emergency responders pulled her from the car and took her to Yampa Valley Medical Center with minor injuries, including a possible concussion.

The highway was closed for about 10 minutes while emergency workers handled the scene, and it was then restricted to one lane for about half an hour, Kobus said. Troopers also ticketed the Craig woman for careless driving.

Kobus said two people have died in the past year along that same stretch of road in the Mount Harris Canyon.

Continued snow

Forecasters from the Nat­ional Weather Service’s Grand Junction office said cold, wet weather would continue through the weekend and temperatures would remain 10 to 15 degrees lower than usual.

Forecaster Jim Daniels said the Steamboat Springs area likely would see snow and rain throughout the weekend with another blast tonight.

“The front came through last night, and it’s a very energetic and cold weather system that approached yesterday,” he said Thursday. “Actually, it was the approach of the front of the storm that resulted in widespread strong winds” Wednesday.

The National Weather Service forecast calls for lows between 24 and 28 degrees during the weekend, with highs at about 40. There also is a chance of precipitation every day throughout the weekend and into Monday.

Daniels said the rain likely will stick around during the days and turn into snow at night and at elevations higher than 7,500 feet. He said higher temperatures could return to Steamboat on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Construction stalls

The Colorado Department of Transportation said in an e-mail update that weather delayed work on U.S. 40 in downtown Steamboat Springs. It is expected to resume Monday, and the traffic control pattern will remain the same.