Denver International Airport shut down all its runways. Roads in southwestern Colorado were shut down for avalanche mitigation. Thousands were without power in the state. Interstates 70, 25 and 76 were all closed leading out of the eastern edge of the state.
Wednesday was a serious weather day.
The day's blizzard conditions prompted Governor Jared Polis to declare an emergency and authorize the activation of the Colorado National Guard to help assist stranded motorists.
From the hurricane-force winds out at DIA to the lowest pressure ever recorded in Pueblo, Colorado hunkered down and worked to make it out of the chilly day unscathed. That low pressure, by the way, is why you keep hearing the phrase "bomb cyclone."
"Bombogenesis" is defined when 24 millibars of pressure are lost over a 24-hour period. Pressure has dropped by 25-30 mbs already.
And while all eyes were on the Front Range and the whipping winds and hefty snow creating blizzard conditions, the High Country still had significant avalanche worry.
According to the National Weather Service, every single county in the state was under some kind of weather advisory (Fremont County, Saguache County and some parts of the Western Slope are only under a Hazardous Weather Outlook).
The Front Range, the Eastern Plains and some parts of the northernmost mountainous counties were all under the blizzard warning blanketing nearly half the state.
The High Country and Western Slope were under a Winter Storm Warning. The winter warning covered the same area as the blizzard, as well as other parts of the High Country along the Interstate 70 path. Travelers in the mountains (and elsewhere around the state, really) were asked to cancel their plans.
Northwestern Colorado was under a Winter Weather Advisory.
All mountainous regions in Colorado, except for the Steamboat Flat Tops forecast zone, were under an Avalanche Warning with very dangerous conditions present. Very large avalanches are likely and some will run naturally.
Some parts of the plains were also under a flood watch until 6 p.m., including Kit Carson and Yuma counties.
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