Snowstorm in Colorado causes flight cancellations, road closures and power outages

A winter storm lashed Colorado with heavy snow and gusty winds Wednesday through Thursday, causing highway closures and power outages that caused travel problems, authorities said.

The storm dumped three to four feet of snow in the Aspen Springs area, three to fourteen inches in the Denver-Boulder metro region and two to four inches further south toward Colorado Springs, said Brian Hurley, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center in College. Park, MD.

Certainly, snow is typical for the state this time of year, Mr. Hurley said, and the amount of snow that fell was not unheard of.

“It’s certainly abnormal,” he said, “but it’s not excessive.”

Lower areas received heavy, wet snow, which could cause power outageswhile higher areas received fluffier snow, Mr Hurley said.

More than 40,000 customers were still without power on Thursday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.usthat tracks the utility sector, and Denver International Airport had more than 800 flight cancellations, according to FlightAwarea flight tracking service.

Several roads, including a stretch of Interstate 70, were closed Thursday “due to adverse weather conditions and/or multiple stuck vehicles,” according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

“Several highways in the Denver metro area and the Highlands are closed due to adverse conditions and crashes,” the department said in a winter travel warning. “Road conditions vary, but most highways are covered in snow and mud, making driving conditions difficult.”

“Do not travel into the foothills!” the National Weather Service said Thursday. “If you do, be prepared for an extended period of being stranded. In metro Boulder and Denver, difficult journeys could become difficult and many nearby streets could become impassable.”

Although the bulk of the storm passed by Thursday afternoon, the state is not quite ready yet. More snow was expected Friday morning winter storm warning was still in force.

Temperatures are “cooler than normal, but not excessive,” Hurley said. “Temperatures will only be in the mid-20s tonight, for example in Denver, and probably around 40 degrees tomorrow.”

“This will melt pretty quickly,” he said.