Remembering Colorado Springs’ great blizzard of 1997
It’s bright blue skies and dry streets Thursday in Colorado Springs, but 21 years ago, the city was brought to a standstill by one of the worst blizzards in the area’s history.
The Air Force bases and Fort Carson had to be closed when the blizzard of Oct. 25, 1997, swept across Colorado. It brought feet of snow all across southern Colorado and left snowdrifts that could overshadow NBA players.
The blizzard conditions lasted in Colorado Springs from 9 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Saturday — temperatures were in the teens and frequent wind gusts were well over 35 mph.
Multiple people died because of the blizzard — a few froze to death, including one in a vehicle on post at Fort Carson; and three in El Paso County died from carbon monoxide poisoning in their snowbound vehicles.
Hundreds of businesses were shuttered for the weekend, resulting in losses in the millions of dollars.
The National Weather Service says blizzards are rare in October. The worst recent blizzards in the Colorado Springs area came between late December 2006 and mid-January 2007.
