It Once Snowed In This Colorado City for 79 Days In A Row
Mesa County, Colorado, sees an average of 64 days of snowfall per year. Even by Colorado standards, this isn't very much. Winter conditions in Western Colorado are in place from November to April, so the number of snow days could be much higher.
What if rather than 64 days of snowfall for the entire year, we had to face 79 days of snow in a row? Would the Grand Valley be buried in snow by that point? Keep going to learn which Colorado town had to deal with snow for 79 days in a row, even before electricity was introduced to the city.
It Snowed For 79 Days In A Row
1888 was a winter for the ages in Breckenridge, Colorado. It snowed on the town every day from November 27th, 1888, until February 20th, 1889. This buried Breckenridge in more than 20 feet of snow, according to SummitDaily.com.
Breckenridge Digs In for the Winter
Residents had to dig snow tunnels to get around the town. The buildings at the Breckenridge Train Depot sat buried in snow, with only the chimneys sticking out. More than 80 days passed before supplies, mail, or essential services could be restored.
Tap this link to check out some photos of the snow tunnels under the Denver Hotel. You can learn more about this incredible snow event in the book "Summit" by Mary Ellen Gilliland, which details the "Big Snow Winter" of 1888-1889.
A Normal Winter in Breckenridge?
Breckenridge, Colorado, usually expects around 280 inches of snow for the entire winter. The big snow of 1888-1889 brought almost 240 inches in just 79 days. Daytime temperatures in Breckenridge average around 30 degrees during the coldest months, with overnight lows around 10 degrees. Can you imagine what it must have been like to make it through that winter?
Keep going to check out some of the worst blizzards on record in Colorado in the photo gallery below.