Douglas County gets ready for big snow Tuesday | News

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. – What a difference a day makes.  A record dry March comes to an end with record temperatures, only to give way to April, and winter weather advisories.  As much as eight inches of snow is expected in places like Douglas County.

A Winter Storm Warning is up for the Palmer Divide from midnight until 6 p.m. Tuesday. It includes the communities of Castle Rock, Elbert, Kiowa, Larkspur and Simla.

The amount of snow is not out of the ordinary, but March’s mild weather allowed for substantial tree growth adding an unexpected worry for business owners like Terry Johnson.  “We’ve had big snows before but we didn’t have the leaves on the tree.”

Six months ago Johnson bought a small studio nestled under two large trees in Castle Rock. A week ago those trees were bare, but after a month of ideal growing conditions they’re now full, and Johnson is concerned the snow could start piling up.  “My concern is the weight of it could just keep that snow and do a little bit of damage.”

And that’s the concern power companies have as well. Fox 31 Denver spoke to Xcel Energy which will have crews on standby in case downed trees  cause power outages.

As far as the roads, Douglas County snow plows are also on alert. As many as 41 plows,and 14 graders are waiting to hit the roads as snow starts to accumulate, but snow and ice isn’t the main concern.

Steve Dalke is a Supervisor with the Public Works Department and says his main concern is slush. “(It) tends to be something that will grab your tires and throw you around.”

Douglas County officials are urging all drivers to take extra precautions on the roads.