As city waits for first flurries, Colorado Springs man makes his own snow

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- As Colorado Springs residents wait another month for recorded measurable snowfall in city limits, Bruce Mackenzie-Low is taking matters into his own hands.

Born in Arizona, the magic of fresh snowfall hasn't faded for Mackenzie-Low, even decades after his move to Colorado.

He made his own snow 20 years ago when he lived in Woodland Park. Since then, we've had enough snow that he hasn't had to think about it.

However, this recent dearth of snowfall forced him out of retirement. Colorado Springs surpassed the latest seasonal snowfall date earlier this month, and the city is just days away from setting a record for the longest dry spell without snow.

"Winter is where I thrive," Mackenzie-Low said, adding that he's the President of a nonprofit ski club called the Sno-Jets.

He has a high-powered air compressor, and by using hoses, he creates his own snow in his front yard using a makeshift "snow gun". The wind needs to be calm, temperatures need to be below freezing and humidity needs to be low enough for it to work. Conditions were perfect on Wednesday night, when he showed our KRDO crew his setup.

It takes about an hour for an inch of snowfall using his snow gun, meaning he has to keep an eye on his set up for hours to get enough snow to blanket his front yard -- but to Mackenzie-Low, it's worth it.

"All the neighbors have come around and they're just sort of taking double takes and looking, and their dogs are out there playing in it," he said. "I hope to break my sled out soon ... It's just the right time of year to do this sort of thing."

A storm system is projected to bring snowfall to the Springs in the coming days, but even if Mother Nature doesn't follow through, Mackenzie-Low is determined to have snow on the ground to ring in 2022.