By COLLEEN SLEVIN and THOMAS PEIPERT (Associated Press)
DENVER (AP) — A significant storm brought heavy snow to Colorado on Thursday – causing flight cancellations and closing a highway that links Denver to Colorado ski resorts.
The storm, which began Wednesday night, brought the slushy, wet snow typical for March, one of the snowiest months in Denver, and wasn’t expected to stop until Friday morning. The heaviest snow accumulations were expected in Colorado’s Front Range region, where most of the state’s population lives, with most falling in the foothills and mountains west of Denver.
Higher elevations were expected to receive 18 to 36 inches (45 to 91 centimeters), and some amounts exceeding 4 feet (1.2 meters), according to the National Weather Service. Denver received up to about 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow by Thursday morning, but the weather service warned that the snow would intensify again later in the afternoon and evening.
A section of Interstate 70 was shut down in the Colorado mountains due to several reports of vehicles stuck on the highway for hours. While beneficial for Colorado’s ski industry, the extreme conditions closed down several ski resorts.
Melanie Brooks was walking her dogs Thursday morning in Denver.
“I’m kind of disappointed that I didn’t make it up to the mountains because now it’s difficult to drive there, and I’m missing a powder day,” she said.
The Colorado State Patrol recommended that people avoid the roads.
“Troopers are getting stuck trying to get to all the stranded motorists,” the patrol posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Aspen Springs, in the foothills west of Denver, had over 3 feet (about 1 meter) of snow as of Thursday morning.
Since the storm is the rarer kind that brings more snow to the eastern half of the state rather than the Colorado’s higher mountains to the west, it may not do much to help supply water to more than 40 million people through the Colorado River.
More than 75,000 customers were without power across Colorado on Thursday — about 2 percent of electric utility customers statewide and concentrated primarily in metro Denver and along the Front Range, according to poweroutage.us.
The storm began as rain in the Denver area and changed into snow. The area was expected to receive 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of snow, with up to 2 feet (60 centimeters) in the western suburbs, the weather service said.
Jarmila Schultz, 77, was tackling her sidewalks in shifts as the snow continued to fall.
“I have to get out early because I have to do it like four times because it’s going to snow all day,” she said, noting she has cleats on her boots to prevent her from falling. “It’s water, ice and it’s very hard for me to lift.”
But she still loves the snow.
“You know, in my time I skied, snow-shoed and did all this and I think Colorado’s incredible for those type of things.”
Denver deployed 36 residential plows starting at 3 a.m. Thursday with the plan to remove the top few inches of snow from streets, to help clear paths to main streets.
Tyler Barnes, a person from Miami who worked as a driver for a ride-share service overnight, attempted snow-shoeing for the first time Thursday morning and found it to be quite easy.
“It was exactly what I was hoping for,” he said. “I feel sure that I could walk a long distance in these.”
Denver International Airport was operating on Thursday, but around 800 flights were called off and 100 more were delayed, as reported by Flightaware.com.
The snowstorm is happening while other areas of the country are experiencing severe weather. Large pieces of hail hit parts of Kansas and Missouri on Wednesday night, with storms possibly generating tornadoes in Kansas.
