After Storm’s Fury, It’s Travelers’ Turn

Embarrassed Denver officials vowed Monday to implement better emergency plans after a crippling weekend snowstorm left at least four people dead and thousands of travelers frustrated and fuming.

Denver Mayor Wellington Webb ordered an analysis on what went wrong at Denver International Airport, where up to 3,000 travelers were stranded after the worst blizzard in a decade dumped 2 feet of snow on Denver and surrounding areas Friday and Saturday. Operations were returning to normal Monday.

The storm moved to Michigan early Monday, blanketing parts of the state in 8 inches of snow before it blew northeastward into Canada. The storm left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity.

Eight people were confirmed dead because of the storm, including an 11-year-old boy who got lost while playing on his sled in Denver, said Jenny Kolquist, a spokeswoman for the Children’s Hospital.

Denver officials heard complaints directly from disgruntled citizens Monday morning on a talk radio program on KOA, Colorado’s largest radio station.

“We need to sit down and analyze why that snow plan did not work and we need to review it very carefully so that when there is another storm we’re not going to be in this same situation,” Deputy Mayor Butch Montoya said.

The storm’s timing and strength heightened awareness of El Nino, the weather-disrupting phenomenon caused by warmer-than-normal water sloshing across the Pacific Ocean. While experts were not ready to blame El Nino specifically for the storm, they did not dismiss its influence.

“It fits very well with the pattern,” said Martin Hoerling, a research meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Warmer temperatures and sunshine Monday were melting much of the snow, but roads were still icy in spots.

A state of emergency order Gov. Roy Romer announced before dawn on Saturday remained in effect Monday, spokesman Jim Carpenter said.