A blast of wintry weather Thursday, with morning snow and temperatures dropping into the teens, led to numerous traffic accidents along the Front Range, delays and cancellations at Denver International Airport and the rare cancellation of a concert at Red Rocks.
In Denver alone, police received 193 traffic crash reports Thursday between 6 a.m. and about 4 p.m., the department said. Weather-related collisions caused major closures on Interstate 25, including northbound lanes shutdown near County Line Road, north of Monument, which led to backups for miles. Multiple police agencies went on accident alerts but those were lifted by mid-afternoon.
Heading into PM rush hour, we’ve received 193 traffic crash reports since 6AM. Letap do better this evening, . Take your time out there, allow for extra stopping distance and just drive safely — we’d hate to have to delay your trip home…😉
— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice)
Denver International Airport, late in the afternoon Thursday, had officially received just 1 inch of snow. Snow accumulations from the storm were more impressive in the mountains and along the foothills. Breckenridge received 6 inches of new snow, Estes Park 5.5 inches, and Evergreen 4 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
At the airport, freezing temperatures, and a quick-hit band of snow at about 9 a.m., led to delays, and some cancellations, as airlines de-iced aircraft and the Federal Aviation Administration instituted a “ground delay program” as a safety precaution, said Emily Williams, a DIA spokeswoman.
At about 4 p.m. Thursday, the airport had a total of 747 delays, mostly related to deicing, and 116 cancellations, Williams said. The airport averages 1,600 flights daily. Late in the afternoon airport operations were “back to normal.”
“We’re ready for the 60-degree weather that is coming this weekend,” Williams said with a chuckle.
In a rare move, Red Rocks cancelled Thursday night’s Illenium concert because of frigid weather.
The overnight low in Denver Thursday night could drop to 14 degrees, according to the weather service. If that happens, the record low temperature for Oct. 11 in Denver — 22 degrees — would fall. Friday’s high temperature in Denver is forecast to be 48 degrees under sunny skies.
