Snowstorm in May 2014: Colorado, Nebraska Hit With Major Spring Snowstorm; Thunderstorms & Tornadoes Also Plague Region
The West and Midwest received a major wintery blast in the middle of spring yesterday and early Monday.
The storm brought over a foot of snow to parts of Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska, as well as thunderstorms and tornadoes to the Midwest. Many were without power as of Monday morning, The Washington Post reports.
The severe weather closed down a 150-miled portion of Interstate 80 in Wyoming, as well as a part of the interstate in Nebraska.
Denver received five inches of snow, which mostly stuck on grass and trees instead of roadways. It continued to snow into Monday morning, which slowed down the morning commute in the metro area. Driving conditions were the worst in the mountains, with certain areas receiving over a foot of snow.
Snow also fell over most of western Nebraska, where I-80 was shut down.
Thunderstorms also created tornadoes Sunday in Nebraska, which damaged many homes and businesses in towns and rural areas in the eastern part of the state. The storm damaged buildings near Garland, Sutton, Daykin and Cordova.
The severe rain storm also made 18,000 utility customers lose power, with 5,000 still without power in Omaha as of Monday morning.
Thunderstorms also hit other parts of the Midwest, including Indiana, Iowa and Illinois, slamming the areas with intense rain and hail.
Crews at the Denver International Airport treated runways as temperatures fell Sunday night.
"At this point we are seeing some delays with our airlines while they are getting their deicing operations up and running, and we do expect the airlines to be fully deicing in the morning," said Julie Smith, spokeswoman for the Denver International Airport.
Two law enforcement vehicles were hit in traffic-related accidents Sunday in the southwest of Denver.
In the foothills southwest of Denver, two law enforcement vehicles were hit in less than an hour in traffic-related accidents on Sunday.
A sheriff's deputy in Jefferson County was injured when his cruiser was hit by an SUV while he was helping a driver who slid off the road due to the weather. A state trooper was then injured responding to the original crash when a car lost control and hit his cruiser.
David Barjenbruch, a meteorologist in Boulder, said that snow isn't unheard of in the area in May, but this storm's snow accumulations could make it a legendary storm.
"If we see the total accumulations that we are anticipating from this storm, we are certainly going to see a top 10 May snow event for the Denver metro area," he said.
The storm also created high winds in New Mexico, Arizona and Los Angeles, which caused blowing dust and "red flag" fire warnings due to the high winds and dry conditions.