A band of heavy snow, induced by a strong upper level jetstream, wreaked havoc on the morning commute in Denver, as well as area north and east of the Denver area. The snow was heaviest on the east side of the Denver metro area where storm totals ranged from 2 to 5 inches.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS BOU wrote it up.
A band of heavy snow, induced by a strong upper level jetstream, wreaked havoc on the morning commute in Denver, as well as area north and east of the Denver area. The snow was heaviest on the east side of the Denver metro area where storm totals ranged from 2 to 5 inches. The combination of reduced visibilities and snowpacked roadways resulted in multiple accidents during the morning rush hour including an 18-car pileup, a school bus crash and at least three fatalities. In southern Weld County, several crashes were reported along Interstate 76 near Hudson, and U.S. Highway 85 near Platteville. In Adams County, numerous accidents also occurred along Interstate 70 near Watkins.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Denver/Boulder, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 30, 2:45 AM MST, 2 hours 45 minutes earlier.
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html><!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Weather, N Douglas County Below 6000 Feet / Denver / W Adams & Arapahoe Counties / E Broomfield County | 2009-03-30 | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect | ||
| Winter Weather, C & S Weld County | 2009-03-30 | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect | ||
| Winter Weather, C & S Weld County | 2009-03-30 | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect | ||
| Winter Weather, C & E Adams & Arapahoe Counties | 2009-03-30 | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect | ||
| Winter Weather, C & E Adams & Arapahoe Counties | 2009-03-30 | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, March 2009
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 159841, 159842, 159843.