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Although Colorado's winters are relatively mild (the average daily high temperature in January in Denver is 43° F), snowstorms can happen any time from September until May. When blizzards and snowstorms do occur, they can sometimes pack a punch.

The worst snowstorm to hit Denver occurred in December 1913, when 46 inches of snow fell over a few days. The infamous Christmas Blizzard of 1982 dropped three feet of snow on the city. More recently, in late October 1997, a blizzard dumped two to three feet of snow in the Denver area and shut down Denver International Airport.

In Colorado's mountainous high country, the accumulation of large amounts of snow is a fact of life. The average snow depth at higher elevations averages 60–100 inches by April. In the winter of 1978–79, nearly 70 feet of snow accumulated at Wolf Creek Pass!

Featured Links:

Winter Storm Encyclopedia (from The Weather Channel)
Includes information on types of winter storms, how they form, historical winter storms, winter weather safety, and more.

All About Snow
This informative Web site from the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder includes a snow Q & A, snow facts, and a photo gallery.

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Photo credits: © Corbis Images, © NCAR, © NOAA, courtesy NEWS4, Colorado's news channel.