The Grass/Land - Ice On Everything and Then a Blizzard

Ice On Everything and Then a Blizzard

When we woke up at 4:30 this morning there was a sheet of ice on everything at the farm.  The gravel driveway was as slippery as the wooden porch.  By 6:30, when I was supposed to leave for work, there were 17 major car wrecks across the metro area and four of our highways were closed due to accidents.  I decided to spend my day at home, instead of sitting in traffic jams.  The snow started about 10:00 am, but the winds are calm, so the blizzard hasn't gotten here as of this writing at 3:00 pm.  Our spoiled horses have been in the barn all day.  They were out last night and even they were covered in ice this morning.  They were happy to come inside. 

Maybe this will be enough for a hay crop this year!


Blizzard WarningCOZ041-046-172200-
/O.UPG.KBOU.BZ.A.0003.130417T2000Z-130418T1200Z/
/O.NEW.KBOU.BZ.W.0006.130417T2000Z-130418T1200Z/
ELBERT/CENTRAL AND EAST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET-
NORTH AND NORTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTH LINCOLN
COUNTY-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...CASTLE ROCK...ELBERT...FONDIS...KIOWA...
LARKSPUR...AGATE...HUGO...LIMON...MATHESON
752 AM MDT WED APR 17 2013

...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 6 AM
MDT THURSDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A BLIZZARD
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 6 AM MDT
THURSDAY. THE BLIZZARD WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

* TIMING...SNOW AND STRONG WINDS WILL SPREAD ACROSS EASTERN
COLORADO THIS AFTERNOON. THEY WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH FROM
NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST OVERNIGHT.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...3 TO 8 INCHES.

* WIND/VISIBILITY...NORTH WINDS WILL INCREASE INTO THE 20 TO 35
MPH RANGE BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...WITH GUSTS AS
HIGH AS 50 MPH. THIS MAY PRODUCE BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WITH
VISIBILITIES AS LOW AS 100 YARDS.

* IMPACTS...TRAVEL MAY BECOME IMPOSSIBLE DUE TO POOR VISIBILITIES
AND SEVERE DRIFTING SNOW...ESPECIALLY IN RURAL AREAS. ROADS
CLOSURES EAST OF DENVER WILL BE POSSIBLE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS
AND POOR VISIBILITIES ARE LIKELY. THIS WILL LEAD TO WHITEOUT
CONDITIONS...MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TRAVEL. IF
YOU MUST TRAVEL...HAVE A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT WITH YOU. IF YOU GET
STRANDED...STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE.