Colorado snow is major holiday hit

Christmas record came after initial forecast of dusting

Bill Scanlon and Burt Hubbard

Published December 26, 2007 at 12:30 a.m.
Updated December 26, 2007 at 5:49 a.m.

Text size

Photo by Darin Mcgregor / The Rocky

Snowplows clear Broadway just south of downtown Denver on Tuesday.

Photo by The Rocky

Snow on Christmas

Photo by The Rocky

Plow we must

More Local News

More stories »

Commuters and shoppers looking for bargains will see most major streets cleared this morning as the metro area digs out from its whitest Christmas on record.

Both Denver and state plowing crews planned to continue working overnight.

"We've done a very good job. All the major arterials are passable," said Ann Williams, Denver's public works spokeswoman.

Roadways may still be a bit icy and slick from overnight freezing temperatures, said Stacey Stegman, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation.

A surprise all-day storm Tuesday delivered Denver's snowiest Christmas ever, unofficially, with 8 inches of new snow landing on roofs, streets and new Flexible Flyers by late afternoon.

The snowfall easily eclipsed the record dating back to 1900, according to National Weather Service hydrometeorology technician Carl Burroughs.

However, because snowfall is officially measured only once a day at the old Stapleton International Airport - at 6 a.m. - the record- breaking numbers won't be official until today.

The all-time record for snowfall on Christmas in Denver was 1894's 6.2 inches, which NWS meteorologists discovered Tuesday when they went through 19th century handwritten records.

Totals varied across area

The foothills and southern part of the metro area were hit hardest by the storm that tracked eastward across the state. Golden reported 13.6 inches and Littleton 10.5 inches; Thornton got just 2.4 inches.

The snow was not heavy enough for crews to plow Denver's residential streets, but Williams said the city will reassess the situation this morning because more snow may be headed Denver's way. The city doesn't clear the side streets until it snows at least 12 inches.

Denver Public Works deployed 68 snowplows starting at 5 a.m, Williams said.

Two hours earlier, CDOT began activating 70 trucks that targeted Interstates 25, 70 and 225, Stegman said.

The snow triggered accidents throughout the metro area.

One of the tough stretches of road was southbound I-25 near East Quincy and East Belleview avenues. Several accidents, including one vehicle that flipped, forced Denver police to shut down the highway for about an hour around noon, Stegman said.

Accidents also posed problems for the snowplows, she said.

Denver International Airport remained open, but a handful of flights were delayed.

United Airlines canceled about 50 flights in Denver - about 14 percent its scheduled departures - as well as some in Chicago to catch up from delays caused by the Midwestern storm that had a ripple effect on airports during the busy holiday travel weekend.

'It sits right there'

The Denver area initially was slated to get just a dusting of snow on Christmas as the storm was expected to blow through quickly.

But Stacey Donaldson, CBS 4 News meteorologist, said the storm slowed and stalled over the Denver area.

"It doesn't have anything pushing it real fast through the state," Donaldson said. "It sits right there and just pumps it out all day long. It makes pretty much of a mess for us."

The storm also brought snow to the ski resorts in the central and western mountains, with Steamboat Springs reporting 19 inches.

"The skiing is fantastic," said Ryan Whaley, who was able to take a break from his resort job in Breckenridge and get in a few runs on the fresh powder.

The storm was expected to move out of the metro area by midnight Tuesday.

The forecast from the weather service calls for a chance of snow in metro Denver both tonight and Thursday night.

Staff writer Hector Gutierrez contributed to this report.

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News