Winter Storm — Larimer & Boulder Counties Between 6000 & 9000 Feet, Colorado

2003-03-17 to 2003-03-19 · Larimer & Boulder Counties Between 6000 & 9000 Feet, Colorado

Wider weather episode

A very moist, intense and slow moving Pacific storm system made its way across the four corners area and into southeastern Colorado from March 17th to the 19th, allowing for a deep easterly upslope flow to form along the Front Range. The storm dumped 31.8 inches of snow at the former Stapleton International Airport, good enough for second place in the Denver weather history record book. The storm also managed to vault March 2003 into first place for the snowiest March in Denver history and fifth place for the wettest March on record. In addition, the storm allowed the month of March to break a streak of 19 consecutive months of below normal precipitation in Denver. The mayor of Denver said, "This is the storm of the century, a backbreaker, a record breaker, a roof breaker." The heavy wet snow caused roofs of homes and businesses to collapse across the Urban Corridor. The snow also downed trees, branches and power lines. Up to 135,000 people lost power at some point during the storms and it took several days, in some areas, to restore power. Avalanches in the mountains and foothills closed many roadways, including Interstate 70 in both directions, stranding hundreds of skiers and travelers. Denver International Airport (D.I.A.) was also closed, stranding approximately 4000 travelers. In all, the estimated cost of the damage to property alone (not including large commercial buildings) was $93 million, making it easily the costliest snowstorm ever in Colorado. The second costliest snowstorm was the 1997 blizzard where damage totalled $10.5 million. The areas hardest hit by heavy snow were the northern mountains east of the Continental Divide, the Front Range Foothills and Palmer Divide, where snowfall totals ranged from 3 ft. to over 7 ft. Some of the most impressive storm totals included: 87.5 inches at Fritz Peak and Rollinsville, 83 inches at Cabin Creek, 74 inches, 3 miles southwest of Bergen Park, 73 inches, at A-Basin and 8 miles northwest of Evergreen, 72 inches at Coal Creek Canyon, 70 inches at Georgetown, 67 inches at Allenspark, 66 inches, 10 miles west-northwest of Idaho Springs, 65 inches at Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, 63 inches, 3 miles west of Jamestown, 62 inches at Loveland Ski Area, 60 inches, 3 miles north of Blackhawk 55 inches at Eldora Ski Area, 54 inches, 8 miles west of Sedalia and 53 inches at Copper Mountain. At Eldora Ski Area, 270 skiers were stranded at the resort when an avalanche closed the main access road. After the storm ended, a military helicoptor had to ferry food to the resort until the road could be cleared. Along I-70, an avalanche released by the Department of Transportation, blocked the interstate in both directions for several hours. In addition, several residences between Bakerville and Silver Plume were evacuated because of the high avalanche danger. As a result of the heavy snow, thousands of residents in the foothills of Jefferson County were trapped in their homes for several days. Some schools remained closed well into the next week. Two homes burned to the ground because fire crews could not reach the residences. In the Urban Corridor and adjacent plains snow amounts ranged from 1 to 3 feet. Some of the snowfall totals included: 37 inches, 6 miles east of Parker and Buckley AFB, 35 inches in southwest Denver, 34 inches at Louisville, 32 inches in Arvada and Denver, 31 inches in Broomfield and Westminster, 25 inches near Loveland, 22.5 inches in Boulder, 17 inches south of Wiggins and 16 inches, 4 miles south of Bennett. In Denver alone, at least 258 structures were damaged. Two people were injured when their roofs collapsed. Two people died in Aurora from heart attacks after shoveling snow. In Arvada, a roof collapse at West Gate Stables killed a horse. Several travelers were stranded along I-70 east of Gun Club Road. The National Guard sent 40 soldiers and 20 heavy duty vehicles to rescue those that were stranded. As mentioned earlier, the heavy snow also forced the closure of D.I.A. which stranded 4000 travelers. The weight of the snow also caused a 40 ft. gash in a portion of the tent roof, forcing the evacuation of that section of the terminal. At the state capitol, lawmakers called their first "snow day", closing for the first such time ever.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5346838. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.