DENVER (AP) — A major storm dumped heavy snow in Colorado overnight Thursday – forcing flight cancellations and shutting down a highway that connects Denver to Colorado ski resorts.
“Our city hasn’t seen a storm like this in a few years,” Denver Mayor Mike Johnston posted Wednesday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The storm, which began Wednesday night, wasn't expected to wind down until Friday morning. The heaviest snow accumulations were expected in the Front Range Mountains and Foothills, with a large area expected to get 18 to 36 inches (45 to 91 centimeters), and some amounts exceeding 4 feet (1.2 meters), the National Weather Service said.
Major sections of Interstate 70 were closed in the Colorado mountains, with numerous reports of vehicles stranded on the highway for hours.
“Stay home !! Troopers are getting stuck trying to get to all the stranded motorists,” the Colorado State Patrol posted on X.
Aspen Springs, in the foothills of Gilpin County, west of Denver, had 23 inches of snow as of Thursday morning. An area on the western edge of the Denver metro area got 18.5 inches and Jamestown in Boulder County received 14.3 inches, the weather service reported.
The storm started as rain in the Denver area and turned into snow. The area was expected to get 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of snow, with up to 2 feet (60 centimeters) in the western suburbs, the weather service said.
Denver deployed 36 residential plows starting at 3 a.m. Thursday with the plan to shave the top few inches of snow off streets, to help clear paths to main streets.
Denver International Airport was open early Thursday, but about 800 flights to and from there were canceled or delayed, according to Flightaware.com.
The snowstorm comes as other parts of the country face severe weather. Massive chunks of hail pelted parts of Kansas and Missouri on Wednesday night, with storms unleashing possible tornadoes in Kansas.
