Historic winter storm cancels thousands of flights, closes major interstates
By
Chaffin Mitchell, AccuWeather staff writer &
Lauren Fox, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Mar 15, 2021 8:23 AM EST
Travelers scrambled to make new plans as flights were canceled out of Denver International Airport in Colorado, after a major snowstorm moved into the region on March 13.
The biggest storm of the winter season for the western United States took shape over the weekend which sparked blizzard warnings, power outages and even prompted the activation of the Colorado National Guard. Final snowfall amounts are still being tallied as the storm winds down, but totals in excess of 3-4 feet were reported across Colorado and southeastern Wyoming by Sunday night. Windy Peak in Wyoming holds the top spot for snowfall totals as of Sunday night with 52.5 inches recorded.
Prior to the storm, winter storm warnings were plastered across southeastern parts of Wyoming and northern Colorado, and winter storm watches extended farther east across southwestern South Dakota and western Nebraska on Friday. An avalanche watch was also posted for the Front Range mountains in Colorado. Blizzard warnings were in effect from Saturday night to early Monday morning across much of southeastern Wyoming, along with portions of Nebraska and South Dakota.
All airlines at the Denver International Airport had to cease operations on Sunday evening due to blizzard conditions in the area. According to the airport, travelers are encouraged to check with their airline regarding flights scheduled on Monday. According to FlightAware, 1,072 flights departing from Denver International Airport were canceled on Sunday and 1,116 scheduled to arrive at the airport were canceled.
By 12 a.m. MDT on Monday, 27.1 inches of snow was reported at the Denver International Airport, making this the fourth largest snowstorm on record for the city.
Other locations in Colorado received in excess of 3 feet such as Aspen Springs, which recorded 40 inches of snow.
Farther north, the National Weather Service office in Cheyenne, Wyoming, warned in a tweet that the snowstorm would be "VERY impactful” and "possibly historic” and later tweeted "be sure to protect your newborn livestock!”
As of 10 p.m. MDT Sunday, snowfall amounts had exceeded 30 inches in Cheyenne. While the final totals are still coming in, this snowstorm has already easily eclipsed the city's old record for the heaviest snowstorm in history, which stood at 25.6 inches set from Nov. 19-21 in 1979.
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Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced that he activated the Colorado National Guard to respond to search-and-rescue requests through the state's Emergency Operations Center from 12 p.m. Friday until 12 p.m. Monday.
"I urge you to stay home if it’s going to snow hard in your area, so you don’t need them to rescue you," Polis said. Colorado State Patrol echoed that motorists should stay off of the roads amid what a trooper referred to as “Snowmaggedon” or “Snowpocalypse” in a video recorded and sent out on Twitter.
Snow blanketing Green Valley Ranch, Colorado, on Saturday, March 13, 2021.
Twitter/@lets_go_birding
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office in Colorado reported that it was responding to many people throughout the county who were stranded in their vehicles on Sunday. A deputy and a Colorado Department of Transportation plow were among the vehicles that were having problems.
Denver International Airport's fleet of snow-removal vehicles prepared early, so they could take on the snow as soon as it arrived.
“The good news is that snow in Denver is not unusual, maybe this much is, but we plan all year for big storms,” The Denver International Airport Spokesperson, Emily Williams, said.
Despite preparations, travelers scrambled to make new plans when thousands of flights were canceled for the airport between Saturday and Sunday.
Along I-25, The National Weather Service in Boulder reported that roads were getting "slushy" on Saturday night, and conditions deteriorated in a hurry throughout the day on Sunday, leading to travel becoming nearly impossible.
Portions of I-25, I-70, I-76 and I-80 were shut down as a result of the treacherous travel conditions on Saturday night.
Conditions on I-70 began to get "treacherous," as the snow fell steadily. Colorado State Patrol announced a westbound closure at C-470 mp 260, with all traffic being diverted east on Colorado 470.
By Sunday afternoon, The Colorado State Patrol said conditions continued to deteriorate to the point that flares put out to block the ramp to westbound I-70 from C470 were no longer visible.
Colorado State Patrol shared images of plow trucks both stuck in snow and flipped on their sides on Sunday.
As heavy snow fell and strong winds roared across southeastern Wyoming Saturday night, long stretches of interstates 25 and 80 were shut down with no estimated time frame to reopen.
Traffic cameras in the area all showed the same scene: roadways covered with so much snow that they became indistinguishable from the surrounding ground.
Two images captured from the same traffic camera just south of Cheyenne, Wyoming, show how rapidly conditions worsened Saturday night. (WYDOT Travel Information Service)
On Sunday morning, I-25 was closed north of Fort Collins, Colorado, near Wellington, to the Colorado and Wyoming border.
The dangerous winter conditions also sparked power outages with more than 33,000 customers left in the dark without power on Sunday morning. That number slowly decreased throughout the evening and overnight.
"We just received a report from a caller in Wellington who said 10-inch- diameter trees were snapped in his neighborhood and power lines are laying on the ground. Roughly 14 inches of snow is on the ground," NWS Boulder tweeted.
As the storm pulls away, winds from the northwest are expected to increase and may lead to more widespread blowing and drifting snow in Colorado. Meanwhile, the storm will spread a burst of heavy snow into parts of the Midwest for the beginning of the week.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, Fubo, and Verizon Fios.
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News / Winter Weather
Historic winter storm cancels thousands of flights, closes major interstates
By Chaffin Mitchell, AccuWeather staff writer & Lauren Fox, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Mar 15, 2021 8:23 AM EST
Travelers scrambled to make new plans as flights were canceled out of Denver International Airport in Colorado, after a major snowstorm moved into the region on March 13.
The biggest storm of the winter season for the western United States took shape over the weekend which sparked blizzard warnings, power outages and even prompted the activation of the Colorado National Guard. Final snowfall amounts are still being tallied as the storm winds down, but totals in excess of 3-4 feet were reported across Colorado and southeastern Wyoming by Sunday night. Windy Peak in Wyoming holds the top spot for snowfall totals as of Sunday night with 52.5 inches recorded.
Prior to the storm, winter storm warnings were plastered across southeastern parts of Wyoming and northern Colorado, and winter storm watches extended farther east across southwestern South Dakota and western Nebraska on Friday. An avalanche watch was also posted for the Front Range mountains in Colorado. Blizzard warnings were in effect from Saturday night to early Monday morning across much of southeastern Wyoming, along with portions of Nebraska and South Dakota.
All airlines at the Denver International Airport had to cease operations on Sunday evening due to blizzard conditions in the area. According to the airport, travelers are encouraged to check with their airline regarding flights scheduled on Monday. According to FlightAware, 1,072 flights departing from Denver International Airport were canceled on Sunday and 1,116 scheduled to arrive at the airport were canceled.
By 12 a.m. MDT on Monday, 27.1 inches of snow was reported at the Denver International Airport, making this the fourth largest snowstorm on record for the city.
Other locations in Colorado received in excess of 3 feet such as Aspen Springs, which recorded 40 inches of snow.
Farther north, the National Weather Service office in Cheyenne, Wyoming, warned in a tweet that the snowstorm would be "VERY impactful” and "possibly historic” and later tweeted "be sure to protect your newborn livestock!”
As of 10 p.m. MDT Sunday, snowfall amounts had exceeded 30 inches in Cheyenne. While the final totals are still coming in, this snowstorm has already easily eclipsed the city's old record for the heaviest snowstorm in history, which stood at 25.6 inches set from Nov. 19-21 in 1979.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced that he activated the Colorado National Guard to respond to search-and-rescue requests through the state's Emergency Operations Center from 12 p.m. Friday until 12 p.m. Monday.
"I urge you to stay home if it’s going to snow hard in your area, so you don’t need them to rescue you," Polis said. Colorado State Patrol echoed that motorists should stay off of the roads amid what a trooper referred to as “Snowmaggedon” or “Snowpocalypse” in a video recorded and sent out on Twitter.
Snow blanketing Green Valley Ranch, Colorado, on Saturday, March 13, 2021.
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office in Colorado reported that it was responding to many people throughout the county who were stranded in their vehicles on Sunday. A deputy and a Colorado Department of Transportation plow were among the vehicles that were having problems.
Denver International Airport's fleet of snow-removal vehicles prepared early, so they could take on the snow as soon as it arrived.
“The good news is that snow in Denver is not unusual, maybe this much is, but we plan all year for big storms,” The Denver International Airport Spokesperson, Emily Williams, said.
Despite preparations, travelers scrambled to make new plans when thousands of flights were canceled for the airport between Saturday and Sunday.
Related:
Along I-25, The National Weather Service in Boulder reported that roads were getting "slushy" on Saturday night, and conditions deteriorated in a hurry throughout the day on Sunday, leading to travel becoming nearly impossible.
Portions of I-25, I-70, I-76 and I-80 were shut down as a result of the treacherous travel conditions on Saturday night.
Conditions on I-70 began to get "treacherous," as the snow fell steadily. Colorado State Patrol announced a westbound closure at C-470 mp 260, with all traffic being diverted east on Colorado 470.
By Sunday afternoon, The Colorado State Patrol said conditions continued to deteriorate to the point that flares put out to block the ramp to westbound I-70 from C470 were no longer visible.
Colorado State Patrol shared images of plow trucks both stuck in snow and flipped on their sides on Sunday.
As heavy snow fell and strong winds roared across southeastern Wyoming Saturday night, long stretches of interstates 25 and 80 were shut down with no estimated time frame to reopen.
Traffic cameras in the area all showed the same scene: roadways covered with so much snow that they became indistinguishable from the surrounding ground.
Two images captured from the same traffic camera just south of Cheyenne, Wyoming, show how rapidly conditions worsened Saturday night. (WYDOT Travel Information Service)
On Sunday morning, I-25 was closed north of Fort Collins, Colorado, near Wellington, to the Colorado and Wyoming border.
The dangerous winter conditions also sparked power outages with more than 33,000 customers left in the dark without power on Sunday morning. That number slowly decreased throughout the evening and overnight.
"We just received a report from a caller in Wellington who said 10-inch- diameter trees were snapped in his neighborhood and power lines are laying on the ground. Roughly 14 inches of snow is on the ground," NWS Boulder tweeted.
As the storm pulls away, winds from the northwest are expected to increase and may lead to more widespread blowing and drifting snow in Colorado. Meanwhile, the storm will spread a burst of heavy snow into parts of the Midwest for the beginning of the week.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, Fubo, and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo