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A woman tries to knock snow off of tree branches with a snow shovel, in Thornton Sunday, as a blizzard blew across eastern Colorado with wet, heavy snow.
DENVER — A spring blizzard blew across Colorado on Sunday, piling up wet, heavy snow that virtually shut down the Denver airport, knocked out power and closed everything from church services to roads across the region.
No flights were taking off from Denver International Airport and many flights were canceled at the Colorado Springs Airport as well.
United Airlines canceled dozens of flights until at least 5 p.m. Joe Hodas of Frontier Airlines said planes were icing up faster than they could be cleaned off.
Whiteout conditions shut down a 16-mile stretch of heavily traveled Interstate 25 between Denver and Colorado Springs, 60 miles to the south.
The Colorado Department of Transportation said crews reported whiteout conditions developing on Interstate 76 near the Nebraska line.
Richard Lemm, general manager of the TA Truck Stop in Wheat Ridge, said about 300 truckers were waiting out the storm, waiting for conditions on Interstate 70 to improve.
“It looks like they’re going to be here most of the day. There are a lot more coming in than going out,” he said. Interstate 70 east was closed between Aurora and Limon.
Meanwhile, Xcel Energy reported 11,000 customers were without power along the the Front Range.
At least 5 inches to 10 inches of snow was forecast in Denver itself but up to 30 inches was possible in the foothills west of Denver, Colorado Springs and Boulder.
More than 2 feet was possible in the Sangre de Cristo mountains in the southern part of the state.
Fat, moisture-laden flakes of snow began falling in Denver before dawn, blown sideways by winds gusting to 30 mph. Three local prisons run by the state in the city were closed to visitors by weather for the first time ever, said Alison Morgan, spokeswoman for the state corrections department.
A winter storm warning was posted for Denver and the mountains through 6 p.m. Sunday.
“It’ll get it out of here pretty quick when it stops,” said Frank Benton, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. On Monday “it’s probably going to melt pretty quick because it is wet underneath.”
The storm arrived in western Colorado on Saturday, with scattered snow falling on ski areas that have already closed for the season, including Telluride. It moved slowly to the east, dropping rain that froze before the snow came down.
The storm was expected to move out of the state late Sunday. Sunlight Mountain Resort, near Glenwood Springs, planned to reopen this weekend to take advantage of the winter-like weather.
No flights were taking off from Denver International Airport and many flights were canceled at the Colorado Springs Airport as well.
United Airlines canceled dozens of flights until at least 5 p.m. Joe Hodas of Frontier Airlines said planes were icing up faster than they could be cleaned off.
Whiteout conditions shut down a 16-mile stretch of heavily traveled Interstate 25 between Denver and Colorado Springs, 60 miles to the south.
The Colorado Department of Transportation said crews reported whiteout conditions developing on Interstate 76 near the Nebraska line.
Richard Lemm, general manager of the TA Truck Stop in Wheat Ridge, said about 300 truckers were waiting out the storm, waiting for conditions on Interstate 70 to improve.
“It looks like they’re going to be here most of the day. There are a lot more coming in than going out,” he said. Interstate 70 east was closed between Aurora and Limon.
Meanwhile, Xcel Energy reported 11,000 customers were without power along the the Front Range.
At least 5 inches to 10 inches of snow was forecast in Denver itself but up to 30 inches was possible in the foothills west of Denver, Colorado Springs and Boulder.
More than 2 feet was possible in the Sangre de Cristo mountains in the southern part of the state.
Fat, moisture-laden flakes of snow began falling in Denver before dawn, blown sideways by winds gusting to 30 mph. Three local prisons run by the state in the city were closed to visitors by weather for the first time ever, said Alison Morgan, spokeswoman for the state corrections department.
A winter storm warning was posted for Denver and the mountains through 6 p.m. Sunday.
“It’ll get it out of here pretty quick when it stops,” said Frank Benton, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. On Monday “it’s probably going to melt pretty quick because it is wet underneath.”
The storm arrived in western Colorado on Saturday, with scattered snow falling on ski areas that have already closed for the season, including Telluride. It moved slowly to the east, dropping rain that froze before the snow came down.
The storm was expected to move out of the state late Sunday. Sunlight Mountain Resort, near Glenwood Springs, planned to reopen this weekend to take advantage of the winter-like weather.
