Early season snowstorm blankets wide swath of Colorado, Texas Panhandle
By
Brian Lada, AccuWeather meteorologist and content supervisor
Published Oct 24, 2019 8:42 PM EST
Snow covered homes and sidewalks after a second snowstorm this fall season, occurring Oct. 23-24.
An early-season storm blanketed parts of Colorado with snow on Wednesday night, including Denver and Colorado Springs, creating wintery scenes from the Front Range to the mountain peaks and all the way down into the Texas panhandle, which saw rare October snow this week.
Snowflakes began falling in Colorado late Wednesday with most of the snow falling during the overnight hours. When residents woke up on Thursday morning, they were greeted with a winter wonderland.
This was far from a major snowstorm, but the early season snow blanketed much of central Colorado. A general 2 to 4 inches fell across the Denver area with some higher amounts on the western part of the city.
There were some tense moments on Wednesday night as video footage posted on social media showed motorists trying to navigate Interstate 70 near Denver were stranded for a time.
By and large, despite the snow, travel delays were minimal with fewer than two dozen accidents reported during the Thursday morning commute, according to the Denver Police Department, which congratulated drivers, saying "you held it together with only 2 puffer reports and just 21 traffic crash reports from 7 to 9:30 a.m.!"
The snow barely disrupted air travel as only two flight cancellations were reported at Denver International Airport, according to FlightStats.
Up in the mountains, snow totals from Wednesday into Thursday of more than a foot were common with San Isabel, Colorado, hitting the 20-inch mark.
This was a boon for ski resorts in the Colorado Rockies, blanketing the slopes with fresh powder. Aspen Snowmass was one area that welcomed the snow, measuring around one foot by the time the final flakes fell.
After covering Colorado, significant snow fell in portions of the Texas Panhandle and northwestern Oklahoma. Amarillo, Texas, saw measurable snowfall in October for the first time since 2011, the National Weather Service (NWS) said, and for only the seventh time since 1950. The earliest Amarillo has recorded measurable snowfall was on September 29, 1984, when it picked up 0.3 of an inch.
In Amarillo the snow came down fast and furious on Thursday, creating near whiteout conditions for a time and it was accompanied by thundersnow -- which was caught on video -- and winds of nearly 40 mph. After the storm wrapped up, 5.5 inches of snow blanketed Amarillo, with snowdrifts of up to a foot, the NWS said.
The snow was accompanied by a significant temperature drop with the mercury plummeting by 40 degrees in 24 hours in some spots, as AccuWeather Broadcast Meteorologist Brittany Boyer pointed out.
As the storm system pulled out, it left clear skies, which allowed for satellites to capture imagery of snow-covered regions stretching from Colorado to Oklahoma and into Texas.
Snow-covered ground seen in satellite imagery as clouds from the storm move east across the U.S. (NOAA / CIRA)
Residents along the Front Range will only see a brief break in the wintry weather before the next dose of snow and chilly air arrives later this weekend and into early next week.
“The period from Monday to Monday night is expected to be the snowiest across Colorado,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda said. “The Monday morning commute could be slippery in Denver and Fort Collins, Colorado.”
Download the free AccuWeather app to see the latest forecast for your region. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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News / Weather News
Early season snowstorm blankets wide swath of Colorado, Texas Panhandle
By Brian Lada, AccuWeather meteorologist and content supervisor
Published Oct 24, 2019 8:42 PM EST
Snow covered homes and sidewalks after a second snowstorm this fall season, occurring Oct. 23-24.
An early-season storm blanketed parts of Colorado with snow on Wednesday night, including Denver and Colorado Springs, creating wintery scenes from the Front Range to the mountain peaks and all the way down into the Texas panhandle, which saw rare October snow this week.
Snowflakes began falling in Colorado late Wednesday with most of the snow falling during the overnight hours. When residents woke up on Thursday morning, they were greeted with a winter wonderland.
This was far from a major snowstorm, but the early season snow blanketed much of central Colorado. A general 2 to 4 inches fell across the Denver area with some higher amounts on the western part of the city.
There were some tense moments on Wednesday night as video footage posted on social media showed motorists trying to navigate Interstate 70 near Denver were stranded for a time.
By and large, despite the snow, travel delays were minimal with fewer than two dozen accidents reported during the Thursday morning commute, according to the Denver Police Department, which congratulated drivers, saying "you held it together with only 2 puffer reports and just 21 traffic crash reports from 7 to 9:30 a.m.!"
The snow barely disrupted air travel as only two flight cancellations were reported at Denver International Airport, according to FlightStats.
Up in the mountains, snow totals from Wednesday into Thursday of more than a foot were common with San Isabel, Colorado, hitting the 20-inch mark.
This was a boon for ski resorts in the Colorado Rockies, blanketing the slopes with fresh powder. Aspen Snowmass was one area that welcomed the snow, measuring around one foot by the time the final flakes fell.
After covering Colorado, significant snow fell in portions of the Texas Panhandle and northwestern Oklahoma. Amarillo, Texas, saw measurable snowfall in October for the first time since 2011, the National Weather Service (NWS) said, and for only the seventh time since 1950. The earliest Amarillo has recorded measurable snowfall was on September 29, 1984, when it picked up 0.3 of an inch.
In Amarillo the snow came down fast and furious on Thursday, creating near whiteout conditions for a time and it was accompanied by thundersnow -- which was caught on video -- and winds of nearly 40 mph. After the storm wrapped up, 5.5 inches of snow blanketed Amarillo, with snowdrifts of up to a foot, the NWS said.
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The snow was accompanied by a significant temperature drop with the mercury plummeting by 40 degrees in 24 hours in some spots, as AccuWeather Broadcast Meteorologist Brittany Boyer pointed out.
As the storm system pulled out, it left clear skies, which allowed for satellites to capture imagery of snow-covered regions stretching from Colorado to Oklahoma and into Texas.
Snow-covered ground seen in satellite imagery as clouds from the storm move east across the U.S. (NOAA / CIRA)
Residents along the Front Range will only see a brief break in the wintry weather before the next dose of snow and chilly air arrives later this weekend and into early next week.
“The period from Monday to Monday night is expected to be the snowiest across Colorado,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda said. “The Monday morning commute could be slippery in Denver and Fort Collins, Colorado.”
Download the free AccuWeather app to see the latest forecast for your region. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo