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Blizzard conditions hit high plains

Rocky Mountain News

Published December 20, 2006 at midnight

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Blowing snow is whipping across the Colorado plains and along the Front Range, and Interstate 70 is closed from Airport Road in Denver all the way east to Kansas.

Colorado 23 between Holyoke and Nebraska, U.S. 385 between Burlington and Cheyenne Wells, and U.S. 6 paralleling I-70 have all been closed as well.

Moving to the northeast from New Mexico, the snow quickly intensified this morning. The National Weather Service says it will become widespread by late morning with snowfall rates around an inch per hour.

The Weather Service has posted a blizzard warning for most of eastern Colorado, meaning heavy snows will be whipped by winds up to 40 mph creating whiteout situations and hazardous driving conditions.

Accumulations of 10 to 20 inches can be expected in most locations before the snow decreases Thursday morning, the Weather Service is reporting.

As much as 2 feet of snow is expected to fall in the southern suburbs and Palmer Divide Area and 2 to 3 feet is expected farther out on the plains.

A number of airlines have started canceling flights.

The airlines have said more than 1 million travelers will pass through DIA during Christmas week beginning yesterday and continuing through Christmas Day.

Most major metro-area schools are closed for the day. The Arapahoe County District Attorney says the Douglas, Lincoln and Elbert county court houses are closed. The Arapahoe County Court house is open this morning for essential personnel only and anticipates closing by noon.

The city of Boulder will be closing today at 1 p.m.

The city is planning on a delayed start of 10 a.m. tomorrow, but we will continue to monitor the weather and will update if there are changes.

Jefferson County's Adminstration and Courts Building closed at noon today as the storm intensified, shutting down all services except Emergrancy Management Operations, said county spokeswoman Kathryn Heider.

The building is expected to open at 10 a.m. tomorrow, but Heider said the storm will be closely monitored and the decision to re-open will be re-evaluated early tomorrow.

In the foothills, the snow is blowing in eddies and going straight up hill with strong winds from the northeast in the area between Morrison and Conifer.

RockyTalk Live host Mark Wolf reports the snow is "coming down sideways" in the foothills of southwest Lakewood.

As much as 3 feet of snow is predicted before the storm moves out Thursday morning.

Travel is extremely hazardous and if you don’t have to go out, the Weather Service recommends you stay in.