Want to see what CAN happen in a mountain town in winter? (Durango: how much, tornado)

[jazzlover]

I post this because a mountain town in our region is getting a dose of winter that may be a record. Just 8 miles south of the Colorado/New Mexico state line lies the small mountain village of Chama, New Mexico. It is very much the kind of mountain town typical of the region before the "beautiful people" showed up. Chama is probably best known to the relatively few Coloradans who have ever heard of it as the western terminus of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad--the spectacular, charming, and highly historic narrow gauge railroad owned by the states of Colorado and New Mexico.

Well, Chama, has been hit with probably the biggest early season snows in its history. Here are some pictures:

Chama (broken link)

As of this morning, the roof of the only grocery store in town has collapsed. Numerous roofs of businesses, government buildings, and residences have also collapsed. The roofs on the historic Chama railroad station and the railroad's locomotive shops are in danger of collapse. Local townsfolk are desperately working to save those, as well as their own structures. It is an epic battle. Many streets are nearly impassable due to the deep snow, and one of two highways connecting the town with Colorado--Colorado Hwy. 17 over Cumbres Pass, is closed.

The area has been declared a disaster area by the New Mexico governor, but just getting help there probably won't be easy.

To all of those people who think living in the isolated Rockies is just a wonderful snowy adventure in winter, this is a stark reminder that nature can turn vicious in heartbeat, and test even the most seasoned residents. Chama is populated by some of the most hearty and seasoned mountain residents I know, but my friends there are talking in pretty desperate terms right now. It's bad. Oh, and the BIG snow months are even there yet.

[jazzlover]

Some more photos:

Chama (broken link)

I might add that Chama is only 7,800 ft. elevation. At Cumbres Pass, at 10,015 feet, the snow was over 11 feet deep a couple of days ago. No telling how much they have gotten out this last storm. Chama got close to 3 feet.

Durango is having its fun, too.

Durango Herald Online

I'll bet there are some "newbies" down there that have gotten way more winter than they ever bargained for.

[chilaili]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

I post this because a mountain town in our region is getting a dose of winter that may be a record. Just 8 miles south of the Colorado/New Mexico state line lies the small mountain village of Chama, New Mexico. It is very much the kind of mountain town typical of the region before the "beautiful people" showed up. Chama is probably best known to the relatively few Coloradans who have ever heard of it as the western terminus of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad--the spectacular, charming, and highly historic narrow gauge railroad owned by the states of Colorado and New Mexico.

Well, Chama, has been hit with probably the biggest early season snows in its history. Here are some pictures:

Chama (broken link)

As of this morning, the roof of the only grocery store in town has collapsed. Numerous roofs of businesses, government buildings, and residences have also collapsed. The roofs on the historic Chama railroad station and the railroad's locomotive shops are in danger of collapse. Local townsfolk are desperately working to save those, as well as their own structures. It is an epic battle. Many streets are nearly impassable due to the deep snow, and one of two highways connecting the town with Colorado--Colorado Hwy. 17 over Cumbres Pass, is closed.

The area has been declared a disaster area by the New Mexico governor, but just getting help there probably won't be easy.

To all of those people who think living in the isolated Rockies is just a wonderful snowy adventure in winter, this is a stark reminder that nature can turn vicious in heartbeat, and test even the most seasoned residents. Chama is populated by some of the most hearty and seasoned mountain residents I know, but my friends there are talking in pretty desperate terms right now. It's bad. Oh, and the BIG snow months are even there yet.

I have been thro and stopped in Chama a couple of times on my way to Conejos and it always looked like a great little town. I'm really sorry to see it in such difficulties and I hope the emergency relief gets there ASAP.

[Bob from down south]

There's some great trout fishing up there around Chama.

Looks like I'm gonna have to wait until the end of August for the water flows to be fishable this year...

[vegaspilgrim]

I actually drove through Chama, NM last summer on US-84 on the way from Durango and Pagosa Springs to Santa Fe. It seemed like a very poor town, but an authentic example of what you could call "the mountain southwest." What's strange is last summer the forests in that area looked bone dry, like it could have been a fire hazard-- and now they're getting pounded with snow. Two different extremes in the same year.

[multitrak]

actually it's kind of cool...reminds me when i was a kid and the snow drifted up to the ridge of our house. and just a another reminder to be prepared for the unexpected in the mountains and keep plenty of provisions on hand, because you never know when you might be snowed in for a month or two.

[WhiteSandsYucca]

Whoa, that is a ton of snow. There is just wild weather occurring everywhere. Seriously, earlier today on this forum, forumers were talking about tornado warnings in Arkansas, and I now see 15 (or so) people were killed in the exact storm. I was just silenced reading that.

[vfrpilot]

Whoa, that is a ton of snow. There is just wild weather occurring everywhere. Seriously, earlier today on this forum, forumers were talking about tornado warnings in Arkansas, and I now see 15 (or so) people were killed in the exact storm. I was just silenced reading that.

That much snow can really make life miserable. But it's nothing compared to the tornadoes in the south east. The death toll is up to 45 and the damage is extensive. If you're comparing the nasty stuff that nature can hit you with, i'll take a big pile of snow every once in a while over deadly tornadoes in the middle of the night. Wildfires, earthquakes, and hurricanes aren't much fun either.

[Micktooth]

Amen to that vfrpilot, my family and I moved from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Talk about a life altering event. Although one never wants to see any kind of tragedy, I'll take the snow any day over Katrina!

[jplotz]

Too bad about all the collapsing roofs...I guess they weren't built with snow loads in mind? When I lived in Minnesota it was a standard part of the building code that the roof had to hold a load of X lbs/sq ft. to account for possible heavy wet snows such as this one (I don't recall the value of X).