Winter Weather — Washington County, Colorado

2021-03-13 to 2021-03-15 · Washington County, Colorado

Event narrative

Storm totals included 13 inches near Woodlin School.

Wider weather episode

Bands of snow developed over northeast Colorado into the northern mountains and foothills on the 13th, which then intensified overnight. The heavy snow then gradually shifted southward on the 14th and covered much of the area. The snow slowly decreased in the evening with only some lingering light snow across the plains continuing into the morning of the 15th. North winds increased to 25 to 35 mph, on the 14th, with gusts up to 50 mph. This produced blizzard conditions along the I-25 Corridor from Palmer Divide north to the Wyoming border. Denver International Airport runways were closed, from noon on 14th until 2 pm on the 15th, with over 2000 flights canceled. All major Interstates were closed except for those areas around Denver and Fort Collins. Extensive drifting snow was observed, with drifts anywhere from 3 to 7 feet deep. The heavy wet snow caused extensive tree damage and produced power outages. Xcel stated the number of customers in northern Colorado affected by power outages exceeded 15,000. Many were left powerless overnight as crews were unable to reach downed power lines. The majority of the outages were in Weld County.

Localized amounts up to 4 feet were reported in the mountains and foothills of Larimer County; a trained spotter near Buckhorn Mountain measured an impressive 48.5 inches of snow. Snowfall amounts in the Front Range Mountains and Foothills ranged from 20 to 40 inches, with 18 to 30 inches reported along the I-25 Corridor. The official snow for Denver was 27.1 which was the 4th largest storm on record since 1882.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 940052. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.