Heavy snow blew across Colorado today, cancelling hundreds of airline flights and shutting down a major road, as a large storm ploughed on to the plains after pummelling New Mexico.
United Airlines, the busiest carrier at Denver International Airport, cancelled more than 630 flights for the rest of the day, and Frontier Airlines planned to cancel up to 40 afternoon flights, representatives said.
The National Weather Service posted blizzard warnings for most of eastern Colorado and adjoining sections of Nebraska and Kansas.
Up to five inches of snow had fallen by the morning rush hour in the Denver area. Two feet of snow was possible in the foothills just west of Denver, with two to three feet a possibility farther north. Up to 20 inches could accumulate on the plains of eastern Colorado.
Eastbound Interstate 70 was closed for 90 miles from Limon, Colorado, to the Kansas line, and police shut down about 60 miles of westbound I-70 from Colby, Kansas, to Burlington, Colorado.
The broad storm also spread rain across parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska, with snow in western Kansas and Nebraska, where police reported vehicles sliding off I-80 in the Nebraska Panhandle.
Ice accumulating on branches and power lines also caused power outages in the area.
The storm rolled into Colorado from New Mexico, where roads around the state were still snowpacked and icy. Numerous schools opened late or remained closed.