The first major snow of the season remains on the ground, and the roads, across a wide area of Colorado…
(Big Storm vxr 1 :45)
And there’s still plenty of digging out left to be done. The storm that belted the state over the weekend was the 5th-biggest first snowstorm of the season in Denver history, depositing a total of 7 ½ inches there, but a lot more in the high country, where many communities and resorts picked up a foot to foot and a half. Extra-cold temperatures were expected in many places this morning, as well, with the snow radiating a lot of heat into the sky, combined with wind chill making things feel like the mercury was actually below zero. Some of the snowfall amounts besides Denver’s included 9 inches at Parker, 10 ½ in Castle Pines, 15 at Copper Mountain, 16 at Breckenridge, and 14 at Aspen. Arapahoe Basin, in Summit County near the continental divide, opened for the 23-24 skiing and riding season Sunday, with an 18-inch base under 11 inches of new snowfall.
(Big Storm vxr 2 :42)
The storm that blew across the state over the weekend left behind the usual picture postcard scenes on the landscape, but the other usual, the travel problems, as well. It was the first accumulating snow of the fall, with 7 ½ inches officially dropped on Denver, more than 5 in Fort Collins, 10 in Englewood, and in the mountains a lot more– 14 at Aspen, 15 at Copper Mountain, 16 in Breckenridge. Frigid temperatures, well below the average Denver high of 60 degrees this time of year, came along with the wintry weather. They led to dangerous wind chills statewide Sunday, as low as 9 degrees below zero at Leadville, 2 above at Limon (LYE-muhn) and 5 above at Colorado Springs. Much of the state’s expected to rebuild to seasonal temps the next few days, including a Denver high around 42 today.