Wind Causes Power Outages, Issues For Drivers On Front Range
By Joel Hillan
GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) - Wind has been causing various issues for drivers across Colorado's Front Range on Wednesday morning.
Blowing snow is causing low visibility and in some cases creating a layer of ice on the roads.
Near Golden, at the intersection of C-470 and Interstate 70 a semi truck had blown over. The crash happened at approximately 7:30 a.m. Because the semi spilled over in the shoulder, only the left lane of westbound I-70 was shut down.
That led to a traffic backup on westbound C-470 starting at Highway 285.
On a nearby stretch of C-470 several accidents happened due to snow blowing off the hogback and onto the highway. That caused the road to ice up, in addition to creating low visibility.
It was unclear if anyone was hurt in any of the crashes.
A stretch of Colfax Avenue between I-70 and 6th Avenue was also closed due to downed power lines.
About 17,000 Xcel Energy customers in Golden and Lakewood were without power about 9 a.m. The cause hasn't been determined but is likely due to the strong winds and downed power lines.
There were several downed trees reported in Golden likely blown over from the strong winds.
About 600 customers were without power in the Boulder area along with smaller, scattered outages.
High winds were also being reported on Highway 93 between Golden and Boulder.
Joel Hillan is CBS4's Traffic Specialist and is featured on the CBS4 Morning News. Follow Joel on Twitter @joelhillan.
