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The Droughtbusting Blizzard of 2003 -
In Mid-March of 2003, the snowpack in the Colorado Mountains was well below normal and
communities along the Front Range of Colorado were facing an extreme drought with dim prospects for summer water supplies.
The period from 17 to 19 March 2003 changed the landscape. A large cyclone formed over the Colorado Rockies, with a deep cutoff
low pressure center over the Four Corners region of the southwest. Over the next two days, this cutoff low progressed
very slowly eastward, keeping eastern Colorado under the influence of deep upslope flow for two straight days.
During this time, wave after wave of clouds and precipitation moved into eastern Colorado. The net effect: a huge snowfall.
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