The waning winter storm leaves behind more than a meter of snow

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

Flakes continue to fall between Denver International Airport and the southeast side of the metro area, but as of Saturday morning Zach Hiris, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Boulder office, said the snow is expected to end by the end. of the day across most of the state.

“We are 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 several inches to more than five feet of snow.

Capt. Michael Yowell of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said rescue operations were underway as of 10 a.m. in the rural region east of Colorado Springs, with abandoned cars blocking snow plows and at least two operators stranded after they tried to dig out drivers using state roads to avoid highway closures to prevent.

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

Although no people or livestock were found dead, Yowell said parts 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 warm shelters during the storm, and the unincorporated community of Karval has been without electricity since Friday evening.

“The snow is so wet and so heavy. It looks like a spring snowstorm we get in early November. “It’s one of those storms that you really have to hit the ground running,” he said.