Denver's Famous Thanksgiving Blizzard

The weather for Thanksgiving this year is still looking to be very, mild-mannered. But, there have been some turkey days when we have not been so lucky.

Take for example Denver's Thanksgiving Blizzard of 1983. There was no going over the river and through the woods that year. A monster cold front blew through the Front Range on Nov. 26 and brought the city and most of the state to a standstill.

Officially, Denver was buried in over 21 inches of snow!

Commerce City reported 15 inches of snow and Chatfield Reservoir picked up a whopping 28 inches. Stapleton Airport had to shut down for 24 hours with up to 18 inches of snow on the runways.

All the highways in, around and heading out east of Denver were closed. The snow was so bad that businesses had to close and several high school football games were cancelled.

When, everything was said and done, the snow removal for the storm cost the city $1.5 million.

The snow ended after 37 hours and stuck around for a long time. After the storm, at least an inch stayed on the ground for 63 days in a row. It was the longest stretch of continuous snow cover recorded in Denver.