WELLINGTON, Colo. – The danger of driving in high winds was on full display Wednesday morning in northern Colorado.
Denver7's Daryl Orr was behind an Amazon Prime delivery truck when it lost control in the gusty conditions and crashed on the median of Interstate 25, near the Colorado-Wyoming border. The truck took out a center guardrail, but the driver kept the trailer from tipping over.
The crash happened around 9:30 a.m.
Watch as this @amazon Prime truck loses control in front of me due to extreme high winds on I-25 on the Colorado/Wyoming border moments ago @DenverChannel @Denver7Traffic @abc pic.twitter.com/c8TZcXBrUL
— Daryl Orr (@WxTrackerDaryl) January 1, 2020
The Colorado Department of Transportation later shut down the northbound lanes of I-25 at Wellington, just north of Fort Collins, due to the high winds and bad weather in Wyoming. The National Weather Service in Boulder issued a high wind warning in the area until 5 p.m. Wednesday, with winds up to 50 mph and gusts up to 80 mph.
And 1 more on I-25 in Cheyenne, WY SB closed . pic.twitter.com/rP7BTp4ci1
— Daryl Orr (@WxTrackerDaryl) January 1, 2020
While the I-25 corridor was dealing with extreme winds and blowing snow, further west a snowstorm was moving into the northern-central mountains. Steamboat Springs was expected to get about a foot of snow, and more than two feet were expected in some of the mountain areas. Along I-70, Vail was also expected to get 8-12 inches in the storm.
Travel issues were happening in the mountains, too. Westbound I-70 near Eisenhower Tunnel was shut down about 12:30 p.m. after multiple crashes, according to CDOT. The highway was later re-opened but traffic was heavy and slow throughout the day.
Blowing snow was also an issue along U.S. 285 near Kenosha Pass.
—CENTRAL CO TRAVEL ALERT— Winds are picking up, with blowing snow and poor visibility on US 285 from Salida to Kenosha Pass. Please drive with extreme caution through the South Park Valley.
Visit https://t.co/L2UbiEz4YE for current road conditions. pic.twitter.com/OMyEMwWXIQ
— CDOT (@ColoradoDOT) January 1, 2020
