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American Morning

Snowstorm Blasts Unsuspecting Colorado

Aired May 03, 2001 - 09:10   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Just a few days ago, Denver area -- folks out there were enjoying some warm spring weather, taking out the long-johns and breaking out the shorts and then, surprise from Mother Nature, big time: another winter storm appeared, and it dropped several inches of snow on the metro area and one to two feet in the mountains. I'd hardly call this a winter storm, seeing as we're knee- deep in spring right now. Let's check and see how things are going on; what's happening right now this morning out there in Denver.

Thomas Drayton of our affiliate KMGH joins us now. He's in Lakewood, Colorado, which is near Denver.

All right, show us how deep the snow is out there this morning.

THOMAS DRAYTON, KMGH REPORTER: Good morning, Leon.

You know, believe it or not, this is springtime in the Rockies. Here in Denver, Colorado we're expecting about four to six inches of snow. As you can see, on the grassy area, we're already seeing about two inches of snow. Like I said, this really doesn't come as a surprise to a lot of people. The snow began falling last night, and this morning many commuters were expecting to see several inches on the ground.

In the high country, it's a different story. Vail, Aspen, Colorado --they're expecting to see about 12 inches of snow; even up to 16 inches in some parts of the high country. A lot of skiers -- I wish -- you know, I guess they're wishing they still had their skis. A lot of the area ski resorts are closed. Vail is probably the only one still open. They're going to see about 13 to 14 inches of snow.

Fort Collins, Colorado, which is about 45 minutes north of Denver, Colorado -- they're already seeing about four to five inches of snow here. Back in Denver we could see several more inches of snow before this whole system is over. Already a lot of accidents. I don't think people were really anticipating to see this this late, although Colorado is known for late-season snowfall.

Reporting live in Denver, Colorado for CNN, Thomas Drayton, seven news.

HARRIS: Hey, Thomas, before we let you go, got to ask you: Are people out there taking all this in stride, now, because we know it was just, what, 80 degrees out there about two or three days ago, wasn't it?

DRAYTON: You know, it was. It was about 85 degrees a couple of days ago here in Denver, Colorado. A lot of people put their sweaters away, put on their shorts. They maybe didn't expect this this soon.

HARRIS: Got you. Thomas Drayton, thanks much. Be careful driving around out there; I know you probably took the snow tires off already.

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