A dangerous winter storm hit parts of the United States Rockies and western Plains on Sunday. The storm pummeled snow on Sunday, shutting down the busiest airport of Denver, leaving motorists and forcing the closing of major highways. According to the National Weather Service, Blizzard and snowfall conditions are expected to continue till midnight local time in some parts of Colorado. The weather agency said that by evening around one meter (three feet) dropped in high-altitude areas.
815 AM MDT Sunday 3/14 – Intense #winter storm continues with very heavy snow and strong winds resulting in widespread #blizzard conditions! AVOID #TRAVEL! STAY HOME. YOU WILL BE STRANDED! Stay safe friends. #wywx #newx #wyoroad pic.twitter.com/AeBihFgEsQ
— NWS Cheyenne (@NWSCheyenne) March 14, 2021
The National Weather Service reported that about twenty-six inches of snow fallen by noon in Cheyenne, the capital city of Wyoming, setting a new two-day record for the city. The National Weather Service Cheyenne office posted on Twitter that to stay home. The police agencies also echoed the message throughout the region, as National Guard soldiers rescued stuck motorists. In the same way, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office tweets that they are responding to a group of stranded people in their vehicles throughout the county. They also requested people to stay home.
Governor announced to close State Government offices
Governor Jared Polis announced to close all state government offices in Denver and corresponding suburban counties on Monday because of the severe weather conditions. Around three feet of snow fallen in the town of Nederland over the weekend, the weather service said. In eastern Colorado, wind gusts of seventy-two km per hour (forty-five miles per hour) urged the National Weather Service on Sunday afternoon to issue a blizzard warning for around a ninety-mile stretch of the urban corridor of the state along Interstate 25, from Fort Collins to Castle Rock.
Source: Web
The authorities extended to the Denver metropolitan area, where around one foot of snow fallen by midday, with another eight inches likely before the storm declines by nightfall, said Frank Cooper, a meteorologist at National Weather Service Boulder Colorado. Officials said that the worsening conditions forced the nation’s fifth-busiest airport, Denver International Airport, to close all six of its runways. Two feet of snow fell at the airport by nightfall, which will remain closed until the improvement of the conditions.
The dangerous, wet snow was threatening power lines and trees. According to an outage tracker maintained by utility Xcel Energy, during the afternoon, over fifty-seven thousand customers faced the disconnection of power in Colorado, but the number dropped to around twenty-four thousand by evening. Moreover, the officials shut down Interstates 25 and 70, the main roadways of Colorado, as of Sunday afternoon. Likewise, they closed Interstate 80, which runs east-west across Wyoming.
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