A winter storm, with blizzard conditions on the Eastern Plains, roared through Colorado on Thursday, the first day of springs, shutting down long stretches of major highways and causing more than 1,000 flight cancellations at Denver International Airport.
West of Denver in the foothills of Jefferson County, the storm dumped more than 15 inches of snow in the Genesee area as of 5 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.
Interstate 70 was shut down in both directions Thursday afternoon in the Genesee area, near the Lookout Mountain interchange, by adverse weather and multiple vehicle crashes. One multi-vehicle crash on the highway included seven vehicles, said Master Trooper Gary Cutler, a Colorado State Patrol spokesman. There were several other crashes, at about 3 p.m., along with vehicles sliding off the roadway in the area. The stretch of highway reopened in about two hours and there were no reports of injuries.
Nederland had 22 inches of snow as of 5:30 p.m., according to the weather service. Longmont and Loveland each had about 3 inches of snow late in the day.
East of Denver, I-70 was closed in both directions from Airpark Road to Burlington by blizzard conditions, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. Winds on the Eastern Plains gusted above 50 mph as snow fell, reducing visibility and causing deep, wind-driven snow piles. Interstate 76 was shut down in both directions from Lochbuie to the Nebraska state line. Both highways remained closed as of 10 p.m. Thursday.
The highway department and the state patrol urged drivers to stay off the roads and stay home if possible. In the mountains, Summit County Office of Emergency Management, at about 4:30 p.m., asked drivers to “stay of the roads unless absolutely necessary.”
At Denver International Airport 1,086 flights were cancelled as of 7 p.m., according to flightaware.com. Southwest Airlines had canceled the most flights — 358. “The cancellations are 100% caused by the storm,” Ro Hawthorne, a Southwest spokesman, said. Snow accumulation at the airport was 7.8 inches as of 6:20 p.m.
Most of the Eastern Plains, north of I-70, was under a blizzard warning on Thursday, according to the weather service. The Front Range, from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs, including Denver, was under a winter storm warning.
Denver’s high temperature on Thursday was 41 degrees at midnight. At 6 p.m. Thursday Denver’s temperature was 29 degrees with light snow falling and fog, according to the weather service. On Friday, cloudy skies over the city brings a 40 percent chance of snow, after 1 p.m., and the high temperature will top out around 35 degrees. New snow accumulation in Denver on Friday should be under an inch.The weekend should be mostly sunny with high temps in the mid-50s.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell contributed to this report.
