Colorado Snowstorm Causes Flight Cancellations, Road Closures and Power Outages

A winter storm pummeled Colorado with heavy snow and gusty winds overnight Wednesday into Thursday, forcing highway shutdowns and power outages, and creating travel headaches, the authorities said.

The storm dumped three to four feet of snow in the Aspen Springs area, seven to 14 inches in the Denver-Boulder metro region and five to 10 inches farther south toward Colorado Springs, said Brian Hurley, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Md.

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

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

Lower terrains saw heavy, wet snow, which could cause power outages, while higher areas got fluffier snow, Mr. Hurley said.

As of Thursday afternoon, more than 40,000 customers were still without power, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks the utility industry, and Denver International Airport had more than 800 flight cancellations, according to FlightAware, a flight-tracking service.

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

“Several highways across the Denver metro area and high country are closed due to adverse conditions and crashes,” the department said in a winter travel alert. “Road conditions vary, but most highways are snowpacked and slushy making driving conditions difficult.”

“Don’t travel into the foothills!” the National Weather Service said on Thursday. “If you do, be prepared to be stranded for an extended period of time. In Boulder and Denver metro, difficult travel and many neighborhood streets may become impassable.”

While the bulk of the storm was over by Thursday afternoon, it’s not quite done with the state. More snow was expected into Friday morning and a winter storm warning was still in effect.

Temperatures are “cooler than normal but not overly so,” said Mr. Hurley. “Tonight’s temperatures are only going to be in the mid 20s, for example, in Denver, and then tomorrow, probably near 40.”

“This will melt pretty quick,” he said.