Winter Storm — Kit Carson County, Colorado

2023-01-17 to 2023-01-18 · Kit Carson County, Colorado

Event narrative

Near 1:40 AM on the 18th, the Colorado Department of Transportation closed Interstate 70 through Kit Carson county due to safety concerns. A maximum snowfall report of 10

inches was sent in by the public 7 AM on the 19th. Multiple reports across the county had reports of over 6 inches of snow from this event. The Burlington ASOS reported gusts up to 37 mph during the winter storm while it was snowing. Reduced visibility down to 0.5 mile due to blowing snow at the ASOS site, however it is likely that lower visibilities occurred and were not reported. Key impacts: heavy snow, blowing snow, snow packed roads.

Wider weather episode

In the evening hours of January 17th, a low-pressure system from southeast Colorado traveled northeast across northwest Kansas and on into south central Nebraska. As this system trekked through the region, an initial snowfall occurred on the leading edge of the system dropping up to 5 inches of snow overnight on the 17th. During the day on the 18th, precipitation began to wrap around the system and create additional snowfall. In Yuma county Colorado, a foot of snow was the maximum snowfall report in northeast Colorado. Interstate 70 was also shut down for a few hours from the Colorado/Kansas border to Denver due to safety concerns. I-70 was closed in both directions.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1074277. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.