Dressed in a duster and hat, Basil Katsaros leads his year-old chocolate labrador Cocoa down the center of Emerson Street in south Denver, Wednesday, March 19, 2003. A powerful blizzard paralyzed Colorado's capital and Front Range on Wednesday, closing government offices, businesses, schools and interstates with hip-deep snow. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
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Rocky Mountain residents brace for massive snow dump
The Intermountain West is anticipating such massive snowfall over the next couple days that airlines have begun alerting passengers that may need to rebook their travels.
Denver International Airport, as well as the entire Denver and Boulder, Colo., metropolitan areas, could see up to 16 inches of snow, according to a National Weather Service (NWS) Winter Storm Warning.
“One minute, we have 60-degree weather; the next, a significant snowstorm. Sounds like Colorado,” Gov. Jared Polis (D) posted Wednesday morning on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“Parts of the Denver Metro area could see a foot or more of snow due to an upslope storm. Please stay off the roads if possible,” the governor warned.
And airlines are urging passengers to stay alert, as planes may also need to stay off the runways if the storm ends up as bad as anticipated.
United Airlines issued an alert about possible travel impacts through Friday not only in Denver, but also in Aspen, Colorado Springs, Vail/Eagle, Gunnison and Steamboat Springs in Colorado, as well as Casper, Cheyenne and Laramie in Wyoming.
Southwest, meanwhile, warned of potential disruptions, delays, diversions or cancellations in Denver, Colorado Springs and Steamboat Springs.
“Travel may become impossible late tonight through Thursday night,” the NWS’s Denver/Boulder branch stressed on Wednesday.
The agency warned of 2 to 4 feet of snow in some Rocky Mountain foothill locations, as well as possible power outages across the Front Range — the north-south zone that stretches from Casper, Wyo., to Pueblo, Colo.
The meteorologists warned that snowfall rates of up to 2 to 3 inches per hour could be possible.
“Itwould not be wise to attempt to drive in the foothills or Front Range mountains starting late this afternoon or evening as heavier precipitation develops,” they concluded.
Welcome to The Hill’s Sustainability newsletter, I’m Sharon Udasin — every week we follow the latest moves in the growing battle over sustainability in the U.S. and around the world.
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Annual snow cover across the globe’s popular ski resorts will likely plunge over the next century thanks to climate change, a new study has found.
One in 8 such areas could lose all-natural snow cover by that point if greenhouse gas emissions stay high, according to the study, published on Wednesday in PLOS ONE.
No turning back: “Within all major skiing regions, snow cover days are projected to decrease substantially under every assessed climate change scenario,” wrote the authors, from Germany’s University of Bayreuth.
A global problem: The researchers explored climate impacts on annual snow cover in seven areas: the European Alps, Andes Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, Australian Alps, Japanese Alps, New Zealand’s Southern Alps and the Rocky Mountains.
They identified specific locations within these regions using data from OpenStreetMap.
The European Alps accounted for 69 percent of these areas, as the largest global ski region.
The authors also used a public climate database known as “CHELSA,” to predict annual snow cover under different carbon emissions scenarios.
Drastic declines: They found that under a high emissions scenario, 13 percent of ski areas could lose all-natural snow cover by 2071-2100, relative to historic baselines.
The highest to lowest likely declines, by region:
Australian Alps: 78 percent
Southern Alps: 51 percent
Japanese Alps: 50 percent
Andes: 43 percent
European Alps: 42 percent
Appalachians: 37 percent
Rocky Mountains: 23 percent
Economics, animal impacts: Although resorts may increasingly rely on artificial snowmaking, the authors warned that the economic profitability of the industry would likely plunge.
And foreseeing the possible upward expansion of ski territories, they also expressed concern about mountain biodiversity, with an eye on “vulnerable high-altitude species.”
On Our Radar
Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
California Assembly Member Jesse Gabriel (D) on Tuesday introduced a first-of-its-kind bill that seeks to ban seven artificial dyes from foods served in schools, citing behavioral and health impacts in children. While the bill would expand upon legislation passed last year — which outlawed certain “dangerous additives” in California foods — it remains to be seen whether this stricter measure will become law.
Nine states this week sued the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over a rule that requires publicly traded companies to disclose some climate-related information to potential investors.
Fossil fuel emissions from methane, which are more potent than those from carbon dioxide, are projected to decline after increasing last year, according to a report released Wednesday by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Story at a glance New Gallup poll findings show that 57 percent of Americans believe the country would be better run if more women held political office. Gallup began tracking Americans’ attitudes about women in politics in 1999 when the percentage of Americans who thought the country would be better off with more women in office … Read more
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