Snowstorm history remembered in southern Colorado
Southern Colorado snowstorms may pale in comparison to those in the Great Lakes states but people here remember the biggest blizzards of the past century.
The late October, 1997, blizzard is widely believed to be the worst in the area’s history. At least it’s one that many people remember.
“I remember it because they closed the Air Force bases,” said Gunnar Williams of Woodland Park. “It’s got to get pretty bad to do that.”
However, according to the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, the early December 1913 snowstorm is the city’s worst ever.
“We didn’t get as much snow in 1997 as we did in 1913,” said museum director Matt Mayberry. “1913 is the weather event we hear most about. It was memorable enough for people in an early era of photography to document quite a bit.”
Mayberry said what made the 1913 storm especially significant is there was little heavy machinery available, so most of the snow was removed by shoveling.
Colorado Springs resident Diana Francese said a blizzard in 1987 made the strongest impression on her.
“At the time, my husband worked for the city and he was the only person who could walk to the city yard to get some heavy equipment out to plow snow — and he was plowing snow for three days,” she said.
Francese also said she was impressed that the Fire Department quickly drove through deep snow to respond to her concern about the fire risk from a collapsed patio roof.
“I was very grateful,” she said. “With a husband gone and small children at home, I wasn’t sure what would happen.”
Perhaps the blizzard most well-known nationally was the so-called “Broncos Blizzard” in October of 1984 at then-Mile High Stadium in Denver.
Denver’s opponent, the Green Bay Packers, fumbled on their first two possessions and the Broncos returned both for touchdowns in the 17-14 win.
“It drove a lot of people to come west to ski,” Mayberry said. “So it actually was an economic development tool.”
The worst recent blizzards in the Colorado Springs area came between late December, 2006, and mid-January, 2007. Two storms on Christmas week essentially shut down the airport and put a lot of wear and tear on snowplows.
The 1997 storm ranks as only the seventh-worst snowstorm in Pueblo history, according to the National Weather Service. The service lists storms in November, 1985, and 1946 as the city’s worst.
