Spring Blizzard Slaps Colo., Wyoming

More than a foot of wet, heavy snow closed highways and canceled flights in parts of Colorado and Wyoming on Friday, snarling traffic and forcing school closures and flight cancellations.

The Colorado National Guard delivered two trucks filled with cots, blankets and food Saturday morning to hundreds of travelers stranded by a spring storm that dropped more than 3 feet of snow on the foothills west of Denver.

More than 500 people spent last night at three shelters after being stranded by the closure of an 80-mile stretch of Interstate 70 in the mountains.

Most of I-70 between Vail and Golden remained closed, but transportation officials have begun opening portions of the highway east of Idaho Springs to start moving stranded traffic.

Scott Entrekin, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said a mix of rain and snow is still falling across the state, including at Denver International Airport and in the suburbs south of Denver. Entrekin said the southern Denver metro area could see another 2 to 5 inches before the snow tapers off Saturday evening.

The foothills west of Denver saw the heaviest snowfall, with 36 inches falling in Black Hawk and 43 inches dropping on Pinecliffe, Entrekin said. He said April could sometimes be one of the state's snowiest months.

Crews are working on avalanche control on the west side of the Eisenhower Tunnel and on Berthoud Pass, said Colorado Department of Transportation spokesman, Bob Wilson. He said parts of I-70 would be open as they are cleared of snow, slush and ice.

The Red Cross opened a shelter in Idaho Springs late Friday after its first shelter there filled to capacity with more than 300 people, Rettew said. The heavy snow also prompted Clear Creek County officials to declare an emergency and asked for state assistance. County officials also opened another shelter in Georgetown.

The area was expected to see only another 2 to 5 inches through noon Saturday, said meteorologist Frank Cooper of the National Weather Service's Boulder office.

Up to 3 feet of snow was expected by Saturday night in the mountains above 6,000 feet, forecasters said. Nearly 3 feet already had fallen in Rocky Mountain National Park about 60 miles northwest of Denver.

One person died in a two-vehicle accident on slick roads in Weld County, Trooper Gilbert Mares of the Colorado State Patrol said.

CBS Station KCNC reports that two cars were buried in an avalanche on Berthoud Pass but no one was hurt - all were rescued.

"It's very, very hard to speculate as to when traffic is going to be allowed back on the road," Colorado Department of Transportation spokesman Fritz Homann said early Saturday. "There seems to be a lull in the storm, but whether the second wave comes in as advertised will be anybody's guess."

Denver International Airport was open and there was no word of any flight cancellations.

Power lines weighed down by snow tripped system circuit breakers and knocked out electricity for more than 16,000 customers in Colorado.

The chilly weather forced a return to heavy coats and snow boots for some who already had packed away their winter clothes.

"I cannot get used to this snow," said Myra Gonzalez, 25, who moved to Denver from Southern California two years ago. She usually drives to work but opted for the bus after seeing heavy flakes outside.

"Now I'm stuck on the bus. I didn't even want to mess with it," the customer-service worker said.

The storm was welcomed at ski areas, though, where the economic downturn has reduced bookings more than 8 percent from last year at some resorts.

On Friday, the slopes were packed with late-season skiers and snowboarders taking their final runs of the season. Most resorts close Sunday.

"This is why we live here, to have the slopes to ourselves in April," said Kristen Petitt, spokeswoman at Colorado's most-visited resort, Breckenridge.

The storm was not without headaches, though. Colorado transportation officials on Friday shut down an 80-mile stretch of Interstate 70 from Vail to Golden and said travel between Vail and Denver was strongly discouraged.

A 140-mile stretch of Interstate 80 and many smaller roads in Wyoming also were closed. A 30-mile stretch of Interstate 25 from Wellington, Colo., to Cheyenne, Wyo., was closed briefly.

A snow plow driver suffered minor injuries late Thursday when his truck rolled down a snowpacked embankment on Red Mountain in southwestern Colorado. A motorist freed him.

Parts of central and southern Wyoming were under a winter storm warning. Federal courts and city offices were closed in Cheyenne, where at least 14 inches were predicted. The Wyoming State Museum in Cheyenne canceled an Earth Day celebration planned for Saturday.

United Airlines, the dominant carrier at Denver International Airport, canceled 76 flights. The airport urged travelers to check with their airlines before leaving home. A spring storm last month stranded hundreds of passengers overnight.

Snow also delayed a bus convoy carrying 60 prisoners from Oklahoma to Wyoming.

The Wyoming Department of Corrections said the convoy had to stop a few miles into Wyoming on Thursday night because of traffic backups. The medium-security prisoners were waiting out the storm at a county jail in Laramie before continuing to a state prison in Rawlins, said department spokesman Carl Voigtsberger.

In Texas, thunderstorms moved through northern areas Friday. Thursday night, hail was so heavy in parts of west Texas that a stretch of Interstate 27 was shut down so snowplows could clear it away.

At least four tornadoes touched down in west Texas on Thursday. No injuries were reported.

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