A slow moving snowstorm moved in over Rocky Mountain National Park on the evening of Thursday, April 16th, and didnât depart until the afternoon of Saturday, April 18th.
This wet spring storm packed a punch. Most storms throughout the winter have their greatest impact on the west side of the park. This storm, however, dropped heavier snowfall on the east side of the Continental Divide. Bear Lake, located at 9,475 feet, had 44 inches of new snow when the storm was over.
During most of the storm, snow fell at three to five inches an hour. Snowplow operators and rangers closed the roads on the east side of the park at the Beaver Meadows and Fall River entrance stations on Friday evening because the snow was falling too heavily to make progress. The main roads reopened by 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Higher elevation roads reopened by late afternoon.
Temperatures warmed up rapidly and on Sunday and Monday rangers and backcountry users reported seeing both natural and human triggered avalanches in a variety of locations, including Spruce Glacier, Dragon's Tail Couloir, Tower Gullies, the Terrain Park and the Bear Lake Headwall. Visitors have accordingly been encouraged to use due caution if recreating in the backcountry.
Ruby: 1.8.7, Rails: 1.1.6