DENVER—A nearly weeklong snow storm brought more than 6 feet of heavy, wet snow to parts of Colorado.
The storm was set to dissipate Thursday and colder, drier air was expected to move in.
With 1 to 2 feet of snow falling in the last day alone, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center said the risk of avalanches was high in the San Juans and the mountains around Crested Butte. The warning was in effect until Friday morning.
The wave of snow storms, which started Saturday, was fed by moisture from the Pacific Ocean, the same system that caused flooding in California.
Since the flow of moisture was out of the southwest, National Weather Service forecaster Joe Ramey said the storm favored south and southwest facing slopes at elevations over 8,000 feet, while north-facing slopes got much less.
The snow resembled the “Sierra cement” seen in the Pacific Northwest more than the fluffy powder more typically seen in Colorado, he said.
Resort towns at the base of ski mountains got rain and unseasonably warm weather from the system.
The Aspen Times reported that rain and above-freezing temperatures kept an outdoor ice rink from opening. In Ouray, rain and temperatures in the 40s were blamed for melting the ice in the town’s ice climbing park, the Grand Junction Sentinel said.
Crested Butte’s ski resort reported a total of 5 feet of snow. Nearby Gothic got over 6 feet of snow through Wednesday but a final tally wasn’t available.
The weather service said Coal Bank Pass, between Durango and Silverton, received 60 inches of snow between Saturday and Thursday morning, while Molas Pass had 50 inches and Snowmass ski area had 23.5 inches.
