During the night, a steady rain began to fall along the Colorado Front Range. By early morning, the rain had changed to snow and, by late morning, a blizzard raged along the urban corridor. The potent winter storm brought a record low pressure of 975 mb to Pueblo and wind gusts as high as 97 mph in Colorado Springs (another record). Thunder claps accompanied the heavy snow here in Littleton.
In Metro Denver, wind gusts have reached 80 mph and the combination of high winds and low visibility closed Denver International Airport. While Denver may get only 5 inches of snowfall, we expect up to 10 inches in western Littleton, where the terrain is a bit higher. Needless to say, the depth of the snowfall will be less of an issue than the strong, gusty wind which has already caused extensive tree damage and power outages and will threaten travelers and livestock with deep drifts and a deadly wind chill.
As I have often mentioned in this blog, March is the snowiest month along the Colorado Front Range but this storm is especially potent. Its track has actually been too far north to produce maximal upslope precipitation in Metro Denver and the storm's effects will thus be especially severe across western Nebraska and South Dakota.
In Metro Denver, wind gusts have reached 80 mph and the combination of high winds and low visibility closed Denver International Airport. While Denver may get only 5 inches of snowfall, we expect up to 10 inches in western Littleton, where the terrain is a bit higher. Needless to say, the depth of the snowfall will be less of an issue than the strong, gusty wind which has already caused extensive tree damage and power outages and will threaten travelers and livestock with deep drifts and a deadly wind chill.
As I have often mentioned in this blog, March is the snowiest month along the Colorado Front Range but this storm is especially potent. Its track has actually been too far north to produce maximal upslope precipitation in Metro Denver and the storm's effects will thus be especially severe across western Nebraska and South Dakota.
