Wild weather weekend for Colorado and Texas
Waking up on a Monday and hearing the word "snow" isn't ideal for a lot of us, but let's put today's system in perspective. Weather could be a lot worse if we were waking up in another part of the country.
Take a look at this satellite loop from Sunday afternoon. This system dumped snow on states like Colorado and Wyoming over the weekend, and also brought severe weather and tornadoes to Texas.
What does this winter storm look like from space? #COwxpic.twitter.com/IGcFsIK9w6
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) March 14, 2021
Colorado had the highest snow totals. Aspen Springs measured 40.3 inches in just 36 hours. Other high snow totals include 28.5 inches in Arvada and 24.1 inches at the Denver International Airport (canceling many flights).
Aspen Park, Colorado, noted that while there was a total of 32.9 inches of snow over the weekend, 19.6 inches fell in just a four hour time window. This caused near whiteout conditions. Officials urged drivers to stay home.
We are begging you...STAY HOME! Cars and vehicles that are low to the ground have a ZERO percent chance of clearing 128/121 over US 36. Wadsworth is also a parking lot. This is not an exaggeration. #cowx#TweetAlongpic.twitter.com/kmvJuDmtHd
— Broomfield Police (@BroomfieldPD) March 14, 2021
Let's take a look at the Texas panhandle. No snow here, but National Weather Service is preliminarily confirming a total of seven tornadoes on Saturday. The most intense tornado was categorized as EF 2.
The tornadoes and heavy snow both formed around the same area of low pressure. While this system will continue to trek towards Michiana today, it will have a much lower impact locally. Expect some rain, snowflakes, and wind, but not on the scale of this weekend's weather events.