Colorado snowstorm closes highways and schools for a second day
DENVER — Thousands of people in Colorado were without power as authorities closed highways and schools during a winter storm that battered the Denver area, threatening to drop another half foot overnight.
The storm comes as other parts of the country experience severe weather. Huge chunks of hail pelted parts of Kansas and Missouri Wednesday night, with storms unleashing possible tornadoes in Kansas. Earlier this month, a snowstorm dumped more than 10 feet of snow at a Northern California ski resort.
The Colorado storm closed a portion of Interstate 70, the state’s main east-west highway, in the mountains for much of the day Thursday, leaving some drivers stranded for hours, mainly due to trucks stuck in the snow and other traffic blocked. authorities said. To keep the highway open, trucks will not be allowed on a portion of I-70 from Eagle/Vail to Morrison until Friday afternoon.
Multiple routes may be blocked or experiencing delays due to accidents, stuck vehicles and other issues.
The storm, which started Wednesday evening, brought the muddy, wet snow typical of March, one of Denver’s snowiest months. The heaviest accumulations were expected in Colorado’s Front Range region, where the eastern plains meet the Rocky Mountains and the vast majority of the state’s population lives. Most of the snow fell in the foothills west of Denver.
Those higher areas received up to 91 centimeters of snow on Thursday and another 30 centimeters of snow was forecast on Friday morning. Denver itself had risen about 9 inches on Thursday. Another 3 to 7 inches was expected in the Denver area Friday morning.
While the extreme conditions were a boon to Colorado’s ski industry, several ski areas were closed. The storm also closed numerous schools and government buildings on Thursday, and schools in the Denver area were closed in advance for Friday.
According to poweroutage.us, more than 18,800 customers in Colorado were without power as of late Thursday, mostly in the Denver metro and along the Front Range.
But many people enjoyed the snow, like Melanie Brooks, who was walking her dogs in Denver Thursday morning.
“I’m a little sad that I haven’t been able to get to the mountains because it’s hard to drive there now and I’m missing a powder day,” she said.
Because the storm is the rarer kind that brings more snow to the eastern half of the state rather than the mountains, it may not do much to feed the Colorado River, which provides water to more than 40 million people in the West.
Jarmila Schultz took shifts tackling her sidewalks as the snow continued to fall.
“I have to get out early because I have to do it four times because it’s going to snow all day,” said the 77-year-old, noting that she has cleats on her boots to keep her from falling. “It’s water, ice and it’s very difficult for me to lift.”
But she still loves the snow.
“You know, in my day I’ve skied, snowed and done all this, and I think Colorado is incredible for that kind of thing.”
Miami native and overnight rideshare driver Tyler Barnes tried snowshoeing for the first time Thursday morning and found it to be quite easy.
“It was really what I hoped it would be,” he said. “I am confident that I can go a long way with this.”
Denver International Airport was open, but 830 flights were canceled and nearly 440 were delayed on Thursday, according to Flightaware.com.