Santa Cruz mountains hit by snow
UPDATE: 02/05/19 6:15p.m. A rare snow day for the Santa Cruz Mountains and much of the Central Coast.
Highway 17 commuters were treated to the good and bad that comes with a snow day as portions of the highway were sprinkled with snow on Tuesday morning.
Come Tuesday afternoon while some of the snow began to melt, families and individuals from around the Bay Area and Central Coast came to play in the snow and take in the scenery.
The snow also keeping Caltrans and CHP officers busy all day.
Caltrans even breaking out the snow plows, something they don’t do often on Highway 17.
Eric Degroodt, a maintenance engineer, has been with Caltrans for over a decade and says snow plows are brought out on Hwy 17 every 3-5 years.
When they are not being used for snow, they can also be used to help clear ice, rocks, trees and other debris from the roadway.
While most of the snow had melted by early afternoon, CHP says there are still things drivers need to look out for, such as black ice and snow melt.
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Highway 17 commuters were treated to the good and bad that comes with a snow day as portions of the highway were sprinkled with snow on Tuesday morning.
The good of it all, of course, is the sights that come with a snow day as the side of the highway grew bright with patches of snow accumulating along a portion of Highway 17.
KION’s cameras caught the downpour of snow throughout the morning off Summit Road.
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Meanwhile, slick roads made for a slower commute with icy road conditions being the main concern this morning.
Road closures are common on this rare snow day as CHP reports the Redwood Estates area saw a closure take place for about an hour from midnight to 1 am Tuesday.
One closure is ongoing, however, at Empire Grade and Ice Cream Grade. CHP has posted that closure is due to snow in the area.
Despite this, and despite a possibly tight work schedule, commuters took time to pull off to whatever safe exit they could to take photos of the snow as it fell along portions of Highway 17.
