Flights delayed, traffic slowed as Denver receives first major snow

Denverites woke up to a winter wonderland, with over two inches of snow blanketing the city by rush hour Wednesday morning.

That number was a low point along the Front Range, according to the National Weather Service Boulder. Fort Collins and Boulder each received nearly three inches overnight; Colorado Springs closer to four.

Despite the relative low snow totals, Denver International Airport was placed under a ground delay from 8 a.m. through 8 p.m. Wednesday due to snow and ice, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. All aircraft into DIA were delayed an average of 30 minutes; de-icing crews were spraying all flights leaving the airport.

Due to the ground delay, nearly 300 flights in and out of Denver International Airport were delayed, and one was cancelled, as of Wednesday morning, according to flightaware.com. Southwest Airlines flights made up 43% of that number.

Outside of flights coming to and from Denver, those originating at or with the destination of Phoenix saw the most delays Wednesday morning, according to flightaware. Other cities that had flights impacted by delays at DIA included Dallas, San Diego and Atlanta.

In addition to the airport delays, traffic was slow around the Denver area as plows raced to shave off the morning blanket, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation’s COTrip Map. One crash on Interstate 25 southbound near Lone Tree was cleared by 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure’s big plows concentrated on the main streets in Denver, according to a spokesperson.

Nearly 60 schools around the Denver area saw closures or delays due to the snowfall, according to 9News.

For more on this story and others, please visit The Denver Gazette’s news partner 9News.


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