Storms Colorado

Many were friends, brought together by a group of talented young men who had met as kids and over the years continued to play together as adults. The men had invited relatives, girlfriends and colleagues for a birthday celebration and ski weekend in the Rocky Mountains. On Friday, relatives and friends of the 18 people who died when their chartered Gulfstream III crashed near Aspen struggled with their loss.

United Airlines canceled nearly 100 flights after hail the size of golf balls damaged 32 of its planes in Denver. The carrier said the damage would cause further cancellations and delays throughout its system for the next few days. About 5% of United's fleet of more than 600 aircraft was damaged in the storm at Denver International Airport. Nineteen of the planes will be out of service for at least two weeks, the airline said.

A chartered jet out of Burbank and Los Angeles airports slammed into a hillside in snowy weather near Aspen, Colo., Thursday evening, killing all 18 people on board. Breaking into pieces, the plane hurtled over a culvert before smashing into a bluff just short of the runway at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport, authorities said. Rescuers arrived within minutes as local residents climbed over fences and tried to find survivors in a field, but were turned back by spilled fuel and flaming wreckage.

A spring storm dumped more than 3 feet of snow in central Colorado's Arkansas Valley, an unusual amount there at any time of year, and more was on the way, officials in Salida said. "It shut down everything here as far as government and private businesses," said Trooper Sam Trujillo of the Colorado State Patrol. The storm poured from 35 to 41 inches of snow across Chaffee and Park counties, 130 miles southwest of Denver.

A late winter storm dumped up to 2 feet of snow in eastern Colorado, forcing businesses and schools to close and creating dangerous road conditions. Tow trucks had to remove jackknifed trucks that had halted traffic, officials said. Up to 14 inches of snow fell on the west side of Denver, a weather service official said. Interstate 25, the main north-south highway, was closed for several hours south of Denver to Colorado Springs. The Colorado Springs Municipal Airport also closed.

A chartered jet that crashed near this ski resort, killing all 18 aboard, had abandoned its initial approach to the mountainous airport and was circling through steady snowfall for a second attempt to land when it exploded into a hillside, sources close to the investigation said Friday. Two other chartered jets--one immediately ahead of the doomed plane and one right behind--also missed their first passes at the landing strip, pulling out at the last moment, several sources told The Times.

United Airlines canceled nearly 100 flights after hail the size of golf balls damaged 32 of its planes in Denver. The carrier said the damage would cause further cancellations and delays throughout its system for the next few days. About 5% of United's fleet of more than 600 aircraft was damaged in the storm at Denver International Airport. Nineteen of the planes will be out of service for at least two weeks, the airline said.

Just two days after the mayor said this city was prepared for anything El Nino could deliver, the first blizzard of the season blew in Saturday, paralyzing the region with heavy snow that shut down major interstates, stranded thousands of air and road travelers and prompted Colorado's governor to declare a state of emergency.

A spring storm dumped more than 3 feet of snow in central Colorado's Arkansas Valley, an unusual amount there at any time of year, and more was on the way, officials in Salida said. "It shut down everything here as far as government and private businesses," said Trooper Sam Trujillo of the Colorado State Patrol. The storm poured from 35 to 41 inches of snow across Chaffee and Park counties, 130 miles southwest of Denver.

Rescuers worked Sunday to recover the bodies of two British hikers who were killed when they were caught in a freak spring blizzard on 13,397-foot South Arapahoe Peak. The bodies of the man and woman, both in their 20s, were located Saturday by members of the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group. A second man, also believed to be in his 20s, survived the ordeal, officials said. He suffered only minor injuries.

A spring snowstorm roared into Colorado on Wednesday, dumping more than a foot of snow and forcing the closure of major highways, schools and Denver International Airport before plowing into the Plains states late in the day. High winds created blizzard conditions and triggered outages that left 50,000 customers without power. Slushy snow made road conditions hazardous, especially during an often-futile morning commute.

A chartered jet that crashed near this ski resort, killing all 18 aboard, had abandoned its initial approach to the mountainous airport and was circling through steady snowfall for a second attempt to land when it exploded into a hillside, sources close to the investigation said Friday. Two other chartered jets--one immediately ahead of the doomed plane and one right behind--also missed their first passes at the landing strip, pulling out at the last moment, several sources told The Times.

Many were friends, brought together by a group of talented young men who had met as kids and over the years continued to play together as adults. The men had invited relatives, girlfriends and colleagues for a birthday celebration and ski weekend in the Rocky Mountains. On Friday, relatives and friends of the 18 people who died when their chartered Gulfstream III crashed near Aspen struggled with their loss.

A chartered jet out of Burbank and Los Angeles airports slammed into a hillside in snowy weather near Aspen, Colo., Thursday evening, killing all 18 people on board. Breaking into pieces, the plane hurtled over a culvert before smashing into a bluff just short of the runway at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport, authorities said. Rescuers arrived within minutes as local residents climbed over fences and tried to find survivors in a field, but were turned back by spilled fuel and flaming wreckage.

Two Oklahoma State basketball players and six staffers and broadcasters were killed Saturday in a plane crash returning from a game in Colorado, officials said. The plane crashed in a snowstorm about 20 miles south of Denver after taking off from Jefferson County Airport, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman John Clabes said. The pilot and co-pilot also died.

Arriving late and bringing bitter cold, winter rolled into Colorado over the weekend. By Monday, five inches of snow had fallen at the state's beleaguered Front Range ski areas, but scarcely enough to dust the alarmingly brown Rocky Mountains. The weekend snow--any snow--was heartening to the skittish ski industry. At the same time, it did little to alleviate a serious water shortage that may yet disturb the young ski season.

A storm howled across the Rockies for a third straight day, striking Colorado with 70-m.p.h. winds and up to 16 inches of snow. Snow fell over the Cascade and Siskiyou ranges of Oregon and Washington and the Northern California mountains. Utah, Wyoming and Idaho also were covered with snow, and 200 miles of Interstate 84 were closed in Idaho. Snow advisories were issued for parts of South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin as the storm moved eastward.

A fast-moving thunderstorm that dropped nearly 2 inches of rain with damaging hail at rush hour flooded major intersections, while 60 mph winds snapped tree limbs and caused limited power outages. Denver's south side along with the western suburb of Lakewood were hardest hit. The rest of the metro suburbs reported little or no problems. Damaging hail hit south Denver, raking cars and homes. No injuries were reported.

A late winter storm dumped up to 2 feet of snow in eastern Colorado, forcing businesses and schools to close and creating dangerous road conditions. Tow trucks had to remove jackknifed trucks that had halted traffic, officials said. Up to 14 inches of snow fell on the west side of Denver, a weather service official said. Interstate 25, the main north-south highway, was closed for several hours south of Denver to Colorado Springs. The Colorado Springs Municipal Airport also closed.

Major highways reopened Saturday in southern Colorado after being blocked by more than 3 feet of snow, and hundreds of travelers hit the road after spending the night in emergency shelters. "It was just a big storm. It came in real bad," said Rudy Pineda, who helped set up a shelter in Washington High School in Walsenburg. About 275 people were housed at the school after the storm closed roads into and out of the town near the New Mexico state line.