Heavy Snowstorm Hits Colo. on Its Way East
A powerful winter storm swept across Colorado on Friday as it headed east, bringing blizzard warnings to eastern Colorado and western Kansas, and winter storm warnings for southeast Wyoming and western Nebraska.
The storm stretched as far south as New Mexico, where Department of Transportation reported difficult driving conditions on several state highways because of the winter weather, leaving highways snow packed and icy.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center issued a warning through Friday east of the Continental Divide, saying 2 feet of snow or more could overwhelm a weak snow pack, with natural and human-triggered avalanches likely Friday.
The storm forced the cancellation of more than 600 arriving and departing flights at the Denver airport that had been scheduled through Friday night. That’s about 35 percent of its average daily operations of 1,700 flights.
Southwest Airlines canceled all its flights through 4 p.m. Friday at Denver International Airport because of the storm. The airline said it wanted to mitigate the impact of the storm on its operations elsewhere across the country.
The Colorado Department of Transportation closed portions of Interstate 70 east of Denver International Airport to Limon, stranding truckers. Interstate 25 north and south reopened after numerous accidents were cleared.
The National Weather Service said snow was falling at 2 inches an hour on the Eastern Plains, producing some blizzard conditions.