Colorado weather: Waning winter storm leaves more than 3 feet of snow as rescue ops continue

A storm system that dumped multiple feet of wet, heavy snow on Colorado this week is moving on, as counties south and east of Denver continue to dig themselves out of the slush.

Flakes are continuing to fall between Denver International Airport and the southeast side of the metropolitan area, but as of Saturday morning, Zach Hiris, a meteorologist at the Boulder office of the National Weather Service, said the snow is expected to let up by the end of the day across most of the state.

“We’re pretty much in the last gasp of the storm this morning,” he said.

The Palmer Divide area south of Denver and Lincoln County saw the worst of the storm, with up to 40 inches of snow accumulating along the Palmer Divide and about 38 inches of snow reported in rural Genoa, according to Hiris. In the Denver area, communities received anywhere from a few inches to more than a foot and a half of snow.

Capt. Michael Yowell of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said rescue operations were ongoing in the rural region east of Colorado Springs as of 10 a.m., with abandoned cars blocking snow plows and at least two heavy machinery operators stranded after trying to dig out drivers who used county roads to avoid highway closures.

“Bulldozers are stuck in this thing trying to get to a Honda Civic that’s buried over its roof,” Yowell said. “It was a one-two punch from Mother Nature that we took right on the chin.”

While no people or livestock have been found dead, Yowell said areas of the county remain inaccessible to local rescuers and members of the Colorado National Guard mobilized by Gov. Jared Polis. Yowell added that many motorists were taken to warming shelters during the storm, and the unincorporated community of Karval has been without electricity since Friday night.

“The snow is just so wet and so heavy. It’s like a spring snowstorm that we’re getting in the first part of November. It’s one of those storms you really need to get a running start at,” he said.