58 Inches of Snow, 15-Foot Drifts
This week's storm will go down in history as one of the Western greats. It has caused at least 12 deaths (mostly traffic-related) according to this Forbes article, which also states that 15-foot snow drifts were observed in Kansas, and National Guard troops rescued 44 people from highways in Colorado. Also in Kansas, 3 inches of ice was on power lines, causing power outages that utility Aquila estimated might keep people in the dark for a week.
Keep in mind too that this was the same storm that shut down the Interstate across New Mexico (a state which was declared a disaster area) and killed one person when it spawned a dozen tornadoes in Texas on Friday.
SNOW TOTALS REWRITTEN:
I have rewritten the snow totals report that I had blogged last week, because totals have increased dramatically after the release of new information. First, the NWS in New Mexico came out with some incredible readings. The article stated that 32 inches of snow fell in Kansas and I found the report indicating that. Also earlier today the same time I noticed that Taos Ski Resort in NM is claiming a 5-day total 0f 32 inches. And finally, the 3-day COOP observer maps shown here indicated higher amounts for some states. Here is the new list:
Highest amounts by state:
Angel Fire Resort, NM: 58.0"
Otero County, CO: 44.0" *
Sharon Springs, KS: 32.0"
Strawberry, AZ: 18.0"
Ashley, ND: 16.0"
Gettysburg, SD: 15.0"
Manila & Dagget, UT: 13.0"
Wishek, ND: 12.2"
Furnas County, NE: 14.0" *
Mankato, MN: 9.5"
Indian Creek, WY: 9.0"
Froid, MT: 6.0"
Pecos County, TX: 4.0" *
All reports at or over 2.5 feet (30 inches +):
Angel Fire Resort, NM: 58.0"
Otero County, CO: 44.0" *
Pajarito Mountain, NM: 36.0"
Otero County, CO: 33.0" *
Sharon Springs, KS: 32.0"
Wallace, KS: 32.0"
Near Kit Carson, KS: 30.0"
Near Pecos, NM: 32.0"
Taos, NM: 32.0"
Capulin, NM: 31.3"
Madrid, NM: 31.0"
Genesee, CO: 30.0"
Pena Blanca, NM: 30.0"
*Amount from COOP 3-Day maps; stations not specified. Daily data available if you want to look them up.
It wasn't all bad news, though:
