On this date in 2006, the Front Range of Colorado was blasted by one of their worst winter storms ever with full blizzard conditions and two to three feet of snow. The National Weather Service estimated that most of the Front Range below 6,000 feet got 20-26 inches of snow.
Denver got 20.7 inches, short of the all time record. Boulder picked up 30.2 inches. Other impressive amounts included 38 inches at Black Hawk, 34.5 inches at Golden and a whopping 52 inches at Glen Haven in Buckhorn Canyon.
Denver International Airport was closed for two days, creating travel nightmares for people trying to get home for the holidays. More than 3,000 flights were canceled during the storm. For many, the only way to get to work on Thursday the 21st was on cross country skis as the city was effectively shut down.
A slow moving low pressure system pulled in copious amounts of Gulf moisture into its circulation. Easterly winds running up against the Rockies created favorable upslope conditions that are famous for producing giant snowfall amounts.
Since 1946, here are Denver’s top ten snowstorms:
31.8 inches Mar 18, 2003
30.4 inches Nov 3, 1946
23.8 inches Dec 24, 1982
21.9 inches Oct 25, 1997
21.5 inches Nov 27, 1983
21.2 inches Nov 19, 1991
20.7 inches Dec 20-21, 2006
18.7 inches Mar 5, 1983
17.7 inches Nov 19, 1979
17.3 inches Apr 1, 1957
16.9 inches Mar 20, 1952
16.0 inches Oct 3, 1969
The city’s greatest single storm snowfall is the 45.6 inches that fell between December 1-6 in 1913.
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