Snowy November in Colorado

Credit: Jeff Schmaltz; MODIS team; NASA, Posted on: Sunday, 27 November 2005, 08:19 CST Download full size image

A series of images show the impact of a large snowstorm in Colorado. The first image, seen when you first open this page, was acquired on November 15, 2005, after the storm. If you place your mouse over the image, it will shift to one captured on November 1, before the storm; move the mouse to the side of the image and it will revert back to the first image.

On November 1, snow cover remained sparse, but by the middle of the month, snow covered much of the Continental Divide. The sheet of white spread over mountains and spilled out onto the plains to the east. Some clouds obscure the mountains in the November 15 image, but snow cover can still be discerned as it outlines the underlying mountain peaks. The heavy snowfall was a mixed blessing for Colorado residents, who depend on snowpack for water.

According to news reports, a weekend snowstorm on November 12-13, 2005, dropped two feet of snow on ski resorts, and a fresh storm on November 14 added another foot of snow. Good news for ski resorts and skiers turned out to be bad news for travelers and many residents. Poor visibility, numerous accidents, and abandoned cars prompted the Colorado Department of Transportation to temporarily close a 70-mile stretch of Interstate 70, the state's biggest east-west highway. Downed tree limbs knocked out power lines for as many as 8,000 mountain residents.

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