A dangerous winter storm pummeled parts of the U.S. Rockies and western Plains with heavy snow on Sunday, shutting down Denver's busy ...
A dangerous winter storm pummeled parts of the U.S. Rockies and western Plains with heavy snow on Sunday, shutting down Denver's busy airport and forcing the closure of major highways.
Snow was still falling on Sunday night and Denver was on track to record one of the top ten snowfall accumulations in its history, while in high altitude areas of Colorado and Wyoming three feet or more was expected.
In Aspen Park, 25 miles south west of Denver, 32.9 inches of snow was recorded by Sunday night - almost three feet.
In Cheyenne, Wyoming, about 26 inches of snow had fallen by noon, the National Weather Service reported, setting a new two-day record for the city, breaking the previous record, set in 1979.
Estes Park, a town about 30 miles northwest of Boulder, could get two to four feet of snow said Kylie Bearse, a meteorologist at 9News in Denver.
Denver airport - the fifth busiest in the United States - was closed on Sunday as the snow set in
A TSA agent is seen sitting at an empty security line in Denver airport on Saturday, on the eve of the storm
More than 1,800 flights into and out of Denver were canceled in anticipation of the storm
Heavy snow blankets the steps of the state capitol in Denver on Sunday
Snow removal crews were hard at work outside the state capitol on Sunday in Denver
Snow plows clear Highway 6 outside of Denver, as residents are warned to avoid travel
In eastern Colorado, wind gusts of 45 miles per hour prompted the National Weather Service on Sunday afternoon to issue a blizzard warning for about a 90-mile stretch of the state's urban corridor along Interstate 25, from Fort Collins to Castle Rock.
The warning extended to the Denver metropolitan area, where about a foot of snow had fallen by midday, with another eight inches likely before the storm wanes by nightfall, said Frank Cooper, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Boulder, Colorado.
'The wind has really become an issue,' Cooper said.
In Aurora, 10 miles east of downtown Denver, 48 people were stranded in their vehicles on Sunday. Even the first responders became stuck, Aurora police department said.
The deteriorating conditions forced Denver International Airport, the nation's fifth-busiest airport, to close all six of its runways, officials said.
The airport recorded more than 19 inches of snow by lunchtime.
Denver's streets were carpeted with snow on Sunday and people were told to stay at home
A group of people shovel the snow from a sidewalk in Denver on Sunday, before it freezes
Ben Bryant clears snow from the walkway of his home in Denver on Sunday
For some people the shoveling did not stop all day, and carried on after dark in Denver
An ambulance is seen heading to a call on Sunday evening through the blizzard
A car sits buried under snow on the streets of Denver on Sunday as Winter Storm Xylia swept the region
Amity Allen clears her car of snow with a shovel on Sunday in Denver
Joe Sorrentino and Meredith Kaiser use snowmobiles to move around the streets of Denver on Sunday
A house in Aurora caught fire on Saturday after the residents lit a fire to keep warm in the fireplace
The closure will have minimal impact on airport operations, as more than 2,000 weekend flights were already canceled, including 1,346 on Sunday, officials said.
The heavy and wet snow was threatening trees and power lines.
More than 32,000 customers were without power in Colorado, according to an outage tracker maintained by utility Xcel Energy.
In Aurora, a town home at the 13000 block of Lehigh Ave caught fire after the homeowners lit a fire in the fireplace.
Two adults who were inside the house were rescued.
Captain Tom Johnson of Aurora fire department said the fire should serve as a warning to others to make sure that their chimneys are swept regularly, and lit fires are monitored.
Interstates 70 and 25, Colorado's the main roadways, were shut down as of Sunday afternoon. Interstate 80, which runs east-west across the U.S., was also closed in parts of Wyoming and Nebraska, and in Nebraska the state warned against non-essential travel in the western regions.
A man is seen braving the elements to ride his bicycle down Colfax Avenue in Denver on Sunday
Bicycles sit covered in snow in Denver on Sunday, with the snow still falling
A lone pedestrian walks a dog as a snowstorm rips across the region on Sunday
Abbey Eilerman, left, and Jimmy Mundell build a snow figure in the Sunken Garden along Denver's Speer Boulevard
Snow piles on top of the stairs and dumpsters behind Albertsons in east Cheyenne, Wyoming, on Sunday
Vehicles are covered in snow on Ridge Road in Cheyenne, Wyoming on Sunday
Nebraska state troopers are pictured on Sunday helping crews trying to restore the power lines that had been affected by the heavy snow
'We are well into the snow and wind now so PLEASE DON'T TRAVEL!!' the state tweeted.
The Nebraska State Patrol by Sunday night was warning people to 'find a place to park and wait out the storm.'
The system bringing blizzards to the Rockies was also responsible for severe thunderstorms in Texas, including reports of multiple tornadoes on Saturday in the Texas Panhandle. No deaths were reported.
Schools in Colorado will be closed on Monday.
No comments