简体中文
Skies in Denver, the capital city of the U.S. state of Colorado, began clearing Monday after two days of relentless snowfall and freezing temperatures that caused multiple car wrecks, airport cancellations and school closures throughout the region.
America's West was not spared from the massive "Siberian Express" weather front that crippled the East and Central U.S. and spanned 2,500 miles (about 4,023 kilometers) from New England to the Rocky Mountains last week.
At Denver's International Airport (DIA), a total of 327 flights were delayed or cancelled over the weekend, as 19.2 inches (nearly 50 centimeters) fell nearby in Westminster just north of the Denver, according to the National Weather Service.
"The pace of the storm allowed us to stay on top of it, and made the impact not as bad," said DIA spokesman Heath Montgomery, who noted the weekend's snow moved 2015 past last year's snowfall totals. "We're in mop-up mode now, and flights are running on time today," he said.
After two days of numerous accidents due to icy and snow-packed roads, and with Monday morning temperatures just above 0 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 17 degrees Celsius, Colorado Department of Transportation officials cautioned motorists to "drive slowly."
A total of 89 schools and districts were closed or delayed opening Monday, according to DenverChannel.com
Over the weekend, the Denver public works department deployed its entire fleet of 96 residential street plows for the first time in two years, minimizing snow build-up and accidents. Mayor Michael Hancock personally thanked drivers Saturday night for their efforts.
The snowfall, however, was a welcome relief for Colorado's snow- dependent ski industry as "January was one of the overall driest western winter months on record, with many areas getting half of normal," Snowpack.com reported.
Resorts in Vail, Breckenridge and Winterpark all saw heavy snowfall of more than 10 inches, along with the high-Rockies Aspen resorts, that saw 14 inches over the weekend.
"It was very exciting -- we had a very big weekend with people coming from all over the country to ski here," said Loryn Kasten, PR Manager for the Steamboat Springs Resort, located in northwest Colorado.
Kasten said almost four-feet of snow have fallen this month, including 21 inches over the weekend. "You just never know here in Colorado, forecasting is very tricky," she said. "Usually predictions are from between 1-and-21 inches, a wide margin."
Snow accumulation was sporadic across the state. Enditem
