Major snowstorm in Colorado forces closure of schools, offices and highways
A major storm dumped heavy snow in Colorado on Thursday – forcing flight cancellations and shutting down a highway that connects Denver to Colorado ski resorts for much of the day, stranding some people in their cars for hours.
Numerous schools and government offices closed due to the severe weather, along with stretches of highway, as meteorologists warned of difficult-tonearly-impossible travel by Thursday afternoon.
“Only travel in an emergency, and be sure to take along a winter survival kit in case you become stranded,” the National Weather Service in Denver/Boulder cautioned in a Hazardous Weather Outlook published on Thursday, noting that the “roads will become slushy with heavy snowfall of up to 3 inches per hour”.
The Colorado storm, which began on Wednesday night, delivered slushy, wet snow typical for March, one of the snowiest months in Denver, and was not expected to wind down until Friday morning. The storm is expected to dump up to four feet more snow on the foothills and mountains in the Denver area by Friday morning.
Some travelers caught in the onslaught had to wait out the storm overnight in their vehicles, when Interstate 70 closed on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, 807 flights were canceled at Denver international airport.
“Our city hasn’t seen a storm like this in a few years,” Denver’s mayor, Mike Johnston, posted Wednesday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The snowstorm comes as other parts of the United States face severe weather. Massive chunks of hail pelted parts of Kansas and Missouri on Wednesday night, with storms unleashing a possible tornado in Kansas.
As Thursday morning brought a brief reprieve in Colorado, NWS Boulder reported close to 2ft of snow had already fallen on Aspen Springs, with much more on the way.
Across Colorado more than 53,000 homes and businesses were without power on Thursday, according to poweroutage.us, as the storm began to ramp up again.
“The heavy, wet snow may continue to create further power outages throughout this storm,” the NWS Boulder posted on X, advising residents who lose heating to stuff towels under the cracks in doors, avoid caffeine and alcohol, and close the blinds or curtains, among other strategies to keep warm.
Denver deployed 36 residential plows starting at 3am on Thursday with the plan to shave the top few inches of snow off streets to help clear paths to main streets.
Eldora Mountain, a Colorado ski resort, closed on Thursday morning citing safety issues, after an estimated 30in of snow fell causing multiple snow slides across access roads. “We hope to resume normal operations tomorrow,” the resort said on its website. “In the meantime, stay home, stay safe, shovel out, and enjoy the beautiful weather!”