March Blizzard 2009: Storm sweeps through state; disaster declared

March 25, 2009: In Anticipation

It was Tuesday when the National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch for the system expected to wallop Colorado Thursday.

At that time, the storm was rushing across British Columbia a thousand miles away, but the weather service's forecasters and computer models could already see it drawing a bead on our state.

• Blizzard conditions may hit Thursday rush hour

• Around here, snowfall predictions are a crapshoot

• Airlines canceling flights ahead of storm

• Local weather experts predict how bad it's going to be

• The Palmer Divide Effect (PDF)



March 26, 2009: The Storm Hits

You could count the flakes when the snow began to fall on downtown Colorado Springs shortly before noon Thursday.

Ninety minutes later, the storm that forecasters had been hyping like Don King before a prize fight had arrived, ready to deliver an early spring pummeling that would erase talk of the region's meek winter.

• Storm sweeps through state; disaster declared

• The Battle of Monument Hill

• Legislature takes a snow day

• Headlines from the storm

• Photo Gallery: Spring Snowstorm

• Readers' photos from the storm

• Forecasters take second look at their predictions

• OUT THERE BLOG: Surely this violate the rules of common decency


March 27, 2009: The Day After

The spring storm Thursday packed a wallop across Colorado, although Colorado Springs was largely spared, with anywhere from 2 to 6 inches of snow, which quickly iced over in frigid temperatures and howling winds.

Elsewhere, weather observers recorded 19 inches at Colorado City, 14 inches at Monument, 6 inches at the Air Force Academy and more than 11 inches at Florissant, according to figures compiled by the National Weather Service.

An estimated 400 travelers were stranded at Denver International Airport Thursday night after the cancellation of 500 flights. The flights resumed Friday.

• What storm? Sun makes it a memory

• Don't hit the roads unless you must

• Friday: Not a day to be productive

• After the blizzard, it's a nice day for a drive

• Headlines from the storm: The day after

• OUT THERE BLOG: I have to admit it's getting better