Snow is blanketing much of Colorado and the western Plains on Thursday closing schools and businesses and delaying numerous flights. Roads across much of Colorado and Wyoming are dangerous as they are packed with snow and ice.
Bob Wilson, a Colorado Department of Transportation spokesman told
Yahoo, "There's definitely some adverse driving conditions right now, and it's expected to continue throughout a good portion of the day. although some cars are sliding off roads, not many accidents had been reported."
U.S. Highway six is closed to Loveland Pass as well as Interstate 1-25 is closed from Wellington to Cheyenne. Wilson said that the closure is to prevent traffic congestion going into Wyoming - where driving conditions are worse than in northern Colorado.
Wyoming officials have reported seventy crashes, most of them on I-80 before they decided to close the road from Cheyenne to Laramie.
The snow is not just causing delays on the roads but also for many airports across the region. Chuck Cannon, spokesman told
Yahoo, "Denver International Airport said that all four runways were expected to be open after snow crews worked through the night. Airlines had not indicated how many flights would be canceled."
Cancellations were not just felt at airports. Many local schools decided to close due to the inclement weather.
The National Weather Service is expecting as much as seven inches could fall around parts of Denver before the storm ends. The Denver area is under a Winter Storm Warning until 6 PM due to snow through the afternoon, blowing snow and temperatures in the upper 20s. Whiteout conditions are possible across eastern Colorado and western Nebraska.
The storm began Tuesday which added to the record breaking snow totals in October for Wyoming. Byron Louis, a National Weather Service hydrologist in Boulder Colorado told
Yahoo, "It was the biggest October snowmaker in the Denver area since 1997."
Officials are urging people to be patient and to take their time when traveling.
