{"id":12180,"date":"2023-12-07T08:02:07","date_gmt":"2023-12-07T15:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/examiner-com\/100-years-ago-looking-back-at-the-great-colorado-snowstorm-of-1913\/"},"modified":"2023-12-08T08:18:24","modified_gmt":"2023-12-08T15:18:24","slug":"100-years-ago-looking-back-at-the-great-colorado-snowstorm-of-1913","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/weather-history\/100-years-ago-looking-back-at-the-great-colorado-snowstorm-of-1913\/","title":{"rendered":"110 years ago: Looking back at the Great Colorado Snowstorm of 1913"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53379243341_1f78327276_o.jpg\" alt=\"A man on skis navigates the monstrous December 1913 snowstorm in Denver. (Denver Public Library Special Collections)\" width=\"800\" height=\"497\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A man on skis navigates the monstrous December 1913 snowstorm in Denver. (Denver Public Library Special Collections)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Significant snow events in Colorado are not unusual however some are nothing short of epic. Such was the case with the Great Colorado Snowstorm of 1913, a storm that occurred 110 years ago today and still stands as the largest snow event in Denver history.<\/p>\n<p>It was a classic setup. Low pressure to Colorado\u2019s southwest slowly moved to the northeast drawing in moist air \u2013 and dropping snow along the Front Range.<\/p>\n<p>The first three days of the storm were relatively calm with Denver only seeing 8 inches. On the 4th and 5th however Mother Nature let loose with 37.4 inches of snow.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Scroll down to view some photos from the monstrous storm<\/li>\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.weather.gov\/media\/bou\/1913_snowstorm_update.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">National Weather Service Poster about the 1913 Snowstorm (PDF)<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The total for the event, 45.7 inches, was and still is the heaviest single snowfall event in Denver history. To the west, Georgetown recorded an even more amazing 86 inches, 63 of which fell on the 4th of the month alone.<\/p>\n<p>The Denver Post headline\u00a0on December 5, 1913 read, \u201cDenver in Mantle of Shimmering White, Stops Activity and Everybody Jollifies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A subheading said, \u201cAll Denver is Waking Amid Ghostly Silence of Streets That Are Buried \u2013 Whole State Fells Storm of Varying Intensity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Post\u2019s now defunct competitor,\u00a0the Rocky Mountain News, saw a silver lining. Its headline read, \u201cColorado Gripped by Worst Snowstorm Recorded in 28 Years; Denver is Hit Hard, but Blizzard Means Millions in Crops.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, in a day long before four wheel drive existed and when horse and carriage were as common as cars, the storm had a tremendous impact.<\/p>\n<p>Travel was brought to a complete halt in the area as snow drifts blocked all roads. Trolleys were unable to run downtown and railroads in and out of the city were stopped. It would be a week before streetcar service was returned to normal.<\/p>\n<p>Stranded workers were housed at the city auditorium, jail and movie theatres. Telegraph, telephone and electrical service were interrupted as the snow downed lines across the area. Schools were closed at the height of the storm and some remained shuttered for days.<\/p>\n<p>Any open space in the city became a snow dumping ground as the city dug out. The Rocky Mountain News reported that anyone needing work could help the Tramway company with snow removal. Pay was $3.50 per day.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the ferocity of the storm, accounts of the day indicate only a few fatalities. Dozens of buildings did collapse under the sheer weight of the snow.<\/p>\n<p>The Great Colorado Snowstorm coupled with smaller events over the rest of the month yielded a snowfall total for December 1913 of 57.4 inches, the snowiest month ever recorded in Denver. Additionally, 5.21 inches of precipitation was recorded making the month the wettest December on record.<\/p>\n\t<style>\n\t\t.entry-content a, .entry-summary a, .taxonomy-description a, \n\t\t.logged-in-as a, .comment-content a, .pingback .comment-body > a, \n\t\t.textwidget a, .entry-footer a:hover, .site-info a:hover {\n\t\t\tbox-shadow: none !important;\n\t\t}\n\t\n\t\t.single-photostream-23696 {\n\t\t\tpadding-bottom: 15px;\n\t\t}\n\t<\/style>\n\t\t\t<p class=\"awp-flickr-post-title\" style=\"margin-right: 15px; margin-left: 10px; color:#000000; font-size: 16px ; text-align:left;\"><\/p>\n\t\t<div id=\"awp-flickr-album-23696\" class=\"awp-flickr-album-23696\">\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53379678750_ec0b1c9123_o.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive text-center single-album-23696 col-md-4\" data-sub-html=\"<h4 class=fg-titile-23696>December 1-5, 1913 - Denver&#039;s Biggest Snowstorm on Record (\u201cDenver Public Library Special Collections&quot;)<\/h4>\" data-rel=\"lightcase-23696:myCollection:slideshow\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive img-thumbnail photo loading\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53379678750_a1f32afe33_m.jpg\" alt=\"December 1-5, 1913 - 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Denver&#039;s Biggest Snowstorm on Record (\u201cDenver Public Library Special Collections&quot;)\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/a> \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53379686985_63e41d13be_o.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive text-center single-album-23696 col-md-4\" data-sub-html=\"<h4 class=fg-titile-23696>December 1-5, 1913 - Denver&#039;s Biggest Snowstorm on Record (Denver Public Library Special Collections)<\/h4>\" data-rel=\"lightcase-23696:myCollection:slideshow\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive img-thumbnail photo loading\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53379686985_fc7a806c27_m.jpg\" alt=\"December 1-5, 1913 - Denver&#039;s Biggest Snowstorm on Record (Denver Public Library Special Collections)\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/a> \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53379556779_cdf749d9fd_o.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive text-center single-album-23696 col-md-4\" data-sub-html=\"<h4 class=fg-titile-23696>December 1-5, 1913 - 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Denver&#039;s Biggest Snowstorm on Record (Denver Public Library Special Collections)\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/a> \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53379556799_b84c130d56_o.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive text-center single-album-23696 col-md-4\" data-sub-html=\"<h4 class=fg-titile-23696>December 1-5, 1913 - Denver&#039;s Biggest Snowstorm on Record (Denver Public Library Special Collections)<\/h4>\" data-rel=\"lightcase-23696:myCollection:slideshow\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive img-thumbnail photo loading\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53379556799_21f736733a_m.jpg\" alt=\"December 1-5, 1913 - Denver&#039;s Biggest Snowstorm on Record (Denver Public Library Special Collections)\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/a> \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53379416823_bfbbc20b14_o.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive text-center single-album-23696 col-md-4\" data-sub-html=\"<h4 class=fg-titile-23696>December 1-5, 1913 - 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Initialize Isotope, then trigger layout after each image loads.\n\tvar fg_isotope = jQuery('.awp-flickr-album-23696').isotope({\n\t\t\/\/ options...\n\t\titemSelector: '.single-album-23696',\n\t});\n\t\/\/ layout Isotope after each image loads\n\tfg_isotope.imagesLoaded().progress( function() {\n\t\tfg_isotope.isotope('layout');\n\t});\t\n});\t\n<\/script>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Significant snow events in Colorado are not unusual however some are nothing short of epic. Such was the case with the Great Colorado Snowstorm of 1913, a storm that occurred 110 years ago today and still stands as the largest snow event in Denver history. It was a classic setup. Low pressure to Colorado\u2019s southwest &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/weather-history\/100-years-ago-looking-back-at-the-great-colorado-snowstorm-of-1913\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">110 years ago: Looking back at the Great Colorado Snowstorm of 1913<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[81,156,62,665],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12180"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12180"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23700,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12180\/revisions\/23700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}