T’Naus Nieto
The Chronicle-News
Winter storm ‘Anya’ dumps snow totals that might approach records
After the first snowfall of the season came to the area on Nov. 4, two days later, heavy snowfall hit Trinidad hard during the rest of the week by leaving the city buried by over 2 feet of snow, according to multiple outlets.
Las Animas County and the entire state of Colorado were rocked by the massive snowstorm that closed businesses, government offices, and roads and left people stranded on highways for hours.
I-25 from Pueblo south to New Mexico was closed, HW 350 and many other roads and highways across the region and state were completely shut down, with multiple outlets reporting drivers stuck on I-25 for hours.
One local took to social media saying, “Can the City of Trinidad and CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation) please get exit 11 off-ramp clear so we can (get) off 25? (we’ve) been stuck here since 7:30 a.m…. Several of us are low on gas.”
City Manager Mike Valentine told KKTV Thursday that it was “all hands on deck” to clear roads in the city. “When they need a break, they need to rest,” Valentine said. “The plow continues to go with another employee from another department.”
Valentine also asked for patience. “We understand please bear with us as we dig ourselves out of this and we’re here to help you can call somebody’s manning the phones will do our best to get to you,” Valentine said.”
At the time of writing, Friday, Nov. 8, LAC emergency manager Joe Richards told The Chronicle-News that they were working with incident commander Darren Kolakowski to set up an IC at the Hoehne fire station to help stranded motorists.
Richards provided a notice on Thursday, Nov. 7, that said, “From the Office of Emergency Management for Las Animas County, a winter weather advisory is in place and will remain in place through Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. There is a forecasted snowfall of 12 to 48 inches and potential electrical outages due to snow-laden power lines. Please stay off roads unless it is absolutely necessary so that roads can remain open for emergency vehicles and snowplows.”
According to multiple reports, Trinidad Safeway closed early on Nov. 7 at 4 p.m., and Trinidad Walmart could not open for regular operating hours. Mt. San Rafael Hospital announced operating delays and early closures until eventually stating that they closed all of its clinics, which happened on multiple days, informing people that the emergency room services would still be available. The Huerfano County Government, LAC Courthouse, and other government entities announced they would be closed on Friday, Nov. 8.
The Southeast Colorado Power Association stated in an announcement on Friday, Nov. 8, “We are getting lots of heavy wet snow throughout much of our territory. This is causing a lot of tree limbs to break, causing some outages.”
The snowstorm hit Trinidad hard, but the heavy snowfall affected the entire state. Colorado governor Jared Polis declared a disaster emergency and even deployed the Colorado National Guard to provide weather support.
Weather outlets predict the weather event might produce snowfalls in certain areas that could approach three-day records, especially in New Mexico. In Raton, the current record snowstorm is 26.5 inches set in 1990, with records dating back to 1953.
