Denver snowstorm becomes 4th largest on record

DENVER — The winter storm that brought heavy, wet snow to Denver and the Front Range over the weekend was officially one for the record books.

More than 27 inches fell at Denver International Airport (DIA) by early Monday, making the storm the fourth largest on record in Denver since 1881 and the second-largest snowstorm ever in the city during the month of March. 

Before this March blizzard, Denver's fourth-largest snowstorm on record was on Christmas Eve of 1982 when 23.8 inches of snow fell.

The heavy snow and high winds closed all of the runways and airline operations at the airport Sunday into Monday as crews worked to clear snow and de-ice runways.

The airport asked drivers to avoid Pena Boulevard on Sunday evening, saying it was impassable and that multiple vehicles were stranded there.

The biggest Colorado snowstorm since 2016 closed multiple schools districts or led them to go remote on Monday.

The blizzard-like conditions also led to extended power outages in metro Denver and along the I-25 corridor.  Xcel said it has crews on standby to respond to any downed lines and make repairs as quickly as possible.

Here are the 25 biggest Denver snowstorms on record from 1881-2021, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

1. 45.7 inches – Dec. 1-5, 1913
2. 31.8 inches – March 17-19, 2003
3. 30.4 inches – Nov. 2-4, 1946
4. 27.1 inches – March 13-14, 2021
5. 23.8 inches – Dec. 24, 1982
6. 23 inches – April 23, 1885
7. 22.7 inches – Oct. 20-23, 1906
8. 21.9 inches – Oct. 24-25, 1997
9. 21.5 inches – Nov. 26-28, 1983
10. 20.7 inches – Dec. 20-21, 2006
11. 19.3 inches – Jan. 29-31, 1883
12. 19 inches – April 24-25, 1935
13. 18.7 inches – March 5-6, 1983
14. 18.5 inches  - March 20-22, 1944
15. 18.2 inches – April 17-19, 1920
16. 18 inches – April 19-20, 1907
17. 18 inches – March 31-April 1, 1891
18. 17.7 inches – Nov. 19-21, 1979
19. 17.3 inches – April 2, 1957
20. 16.9 inches – March 20-21, 1952
21. 16.8 inches – April 20-22, 1933
22. 16.5 inches – Sept. 26-28, 1936
23. 16 inches – Oct. 3-5, 1969
24. 15.9 inches – Feb. 2-4, 2021
25. 15.8 inches – April 26-27, 1972

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