Interstate 70 eastbound closes Tuesday afternoon on Colorado's Eastern Plains amid blizzard conditions

Interstate 70 eastbound was closed across most of Colorado's Eastern Plains on Tuesday afternoon due to blizzard conditions that are in effect in areas to the south and east of the Denver metro area. The closure is affecting drivers who had plans to travel to Kansas from north-central Colorado.

The interstate was closed eastbound east of Aurora starting at Watkins and almost all the way to the Kansas border.

Joe Helbok, a truck driver, said he had to pull over when he was on I-70 earlier in the day because of blowing snow and low visibility.

"Driving a big truck, we have to watch out for people and cars," he said. "Slick conditions. Wind is a big factor."

There was also a closure of the interstate in both directions in the morning for several hours due to the dangerous driving conditions.

Denver is not included in a blizzard warning from the National Weather Service, but conditions were projected to be windy in Denver.

A large winter storm is affecting not only eastern Colorado but parts of Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota as well.

First Alert Meteorologist Dave Aguilera said the blizzard conditions could continue through the end of the day on Tuesday and into Wednesday morning.

In addition to I-70, Highway 36 was also closed Tuesday in parts of the Eastern Plains. To see the latest closures, visit the Colorado Department of Transportation's cotrip.org website.