BabyGirl
04-10-2005, 03:27 PM
Blizzard Disrupts Travel in Colorado
DENVER - A blizzard blew across eastern Colorado on Sunday, piling up wet, heavy snow that shut down airline flights and stretches of highway, and canceled church services across the region.
Five 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.
"I can see just across the street and that's it," Heath Vansickler said at the Country Store in Palm Lake, 45 miles south of Denver.
Fat, moisture-laden snowflakes began falling in Denver before dawn, blown sideways by wind gusting to 30 mph. Xcel Energy reported 1,500 customers were without power in the heavily populated Front Range region.
Whiteout conditions shut down a 16-mile stretch of heavily traveled Interstate 25 between Denver and Colorado Springs, 60 miles to the south, and eastbound I-70 between Aurora and Limon. The state Department of Transportation said crews reported whiteout conditions on Interstate 76 near the Nebraska state line.
About 300 truckers waited out the storm at the TA Truck Stop along I-70 in Wheat Ridge, said general manager Richard Lemm.
"It looks like they're going to be here most of the day. There are a lot more coming in than going out," Lemm said.
All airlines canceled departing flights from Denver International Airport during the morning, airport spokeswoman Laura Jackson said. United Airlines canceled dozens of flights, both incoming and outgoing, until at least 5 p.m., she said.
Planes on the ground were icing up faster than they could be cleaned, said Joe Hodas of Frontier Airlines. Frontier said it still had some flights landing during the morning.
The Denver flight cancellations affected airports elsewhere, and Solomon Kwong, planning to travel through Denver on a flight to Omaha, Neb., was stranded with his wife and baby in San Jose, Calif.
"It's terrible. I don't have any idea when they are going to open the airport," Kwong said.
Three state-run prisons in the city were closed to visitors by weather for the first time ever, said Alison Morgan, spokeswoman for the state corrections department.
The storm hit western Colorado on Saturday, with scattered snow falling on ski areas that have already closed for the season. Sunlight Mountain Resort, near Glenwood Springs, planned to reopen during the weekend to take advantage of the late snowfall.
It moved slowly to the east, spreading a coat of freezing rain in advance of the snow, and was expected to be out of the area late Sunday.
A similar storm system in March 2003 paralyzed much of the greater Denver area with 3 feet of wet, slushy snow that destroyed trees and damaged homes.
DENVER - A blizzard blew across eastern Colorado on Sunday, piling up wet, heavy snow that shut down airline flights and stretches of highway, and canceled church services across the region.
Five 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.
"I can see just across the street and that's it," Heath Vansickler said at the Country Store in Palm Lake, 45 miles south of Denver.
Fat, moisture-laden snowflakes began falling in Denver before dawn, blown sideways by wind gusting to 30 mph. Xcel Energy reported 1,500 customers were without power in the heavily populated Front Range region.
Whiteout conditions shut down a 16-mile stretch of heavily traveled Interstate 25 between Denver and Colorado Springs, 60 miles to the south, and eastbound I-70 between Aurora and Limon. The state Department of Transportation said crews reported whiteout conditions on Interstate 76 near the Nebraska state line.
About 300 truckers waited out the storm at the TA Truck Stop along I-70 in Wheat Ridge, said general manager Richard Lemm.
"It looks like they're going to be here most of the day. There are a lot more coming in than going out," Lemm said.
All airlines canceled departing flights from Denver International Airport during the morning, airport spokeswoman Laura Jackson said. United Airlines canceled dozens of flights, both incoming and outgoing, until at least 5 p.m., she said.
Planes on the ground were icing up faster than they could be cleaned, said Joe Hodas of Frontier Airlines. Frontier said it still had some flights landing during the morning.
The Denver flight cancellations affected airports elsewhere, and Solomon Kwong, planning to travel through Denver on a flight to Omaha, Neb., was stranded with his wife and baby in San Jose, Calif.
"It's terrible. I don't have any idea when they are going to open the airport," Kwong said.
Three state-run prisons in the city were closed to visitors by weather for the first time ever, said Alison Morgan, spokeswoman for the state corrections department.
The storm hit western Colorado on Saturday, with scattered snow falling on ski areas that have already closed for the season. Sunlight Mountain Resort, near Glenwood Springs, planned to reopen during the weekend to take advantage of the late snowfall.
It moved slowly to the east, spreading a coat of freezing rain in advance of the snow, and was expected to be out of the area late Sunday.
A similar storm system in March 2003 paralyzed much of the greater Denver area with 3 feet of wet, slushy snow that destroyed trees and damaged homes.