On I-76 through Morgan County, wind closes the road as much as snow

Interstate 76 cuts across Morgan County on its way between Denver and the Nebraska line, through wide, flat, open country. That openness is the thing to respect in winter.

Out here, the bigger hazard is often not how much snow falls but how hard the wind blows it. On the plains, wind can lift snow off the fields and across the road in a “ground blizzard,” dropping visibility to near zero in minutes even when the sky looks calm a mile away. There are few trees or hills to slow the wind, so drifts and whiteouts form fast. When that happens, the state will close stretches of I-76 for safety, sometimes for hours, sometimes longer.

A closure is not an overreaction. It is usually the safest call, and trying to beat it onto an open-plains interstate is how drivers get stranded between exits. The practical move is to check road conditions before you go, keep a full tank and warm gear in winter, and be willing to wait out a closure in town rather than push into blowing snow.

Before a winter drive across the plains, check current closures and conditions on CDOT’s COtrip and the state’s winter-driving guidance.