Heavy snowstorm hits Colorado on its way east

DENVER — The most powerful storm of the winter season pounded Colorado and parts of neighboring states on Friday, creating whiteout conditions on the eastern plains, cancelling more than 600 flights in Denver and closing hundreds of miles of highway between major Colorado cities and the Kansas border.

Snow piled up to 6 feet on some Rocky Mountain foothills — and it was a welcome boost to several ski resorts that have suffered below-average snowfall this season. But while Echo Mountain and other resorts close to Denver celebrated up to 40 inches of powder, the storm only dusted larger resorts, like Vail, with a few inches in central Colorado's Rockies.

"It's been fantastic," said Scott Gales, a spokesman for Echo Mountain about 25 miles west of Denver. "We only had about 26 or 27 inches this morning. Now we're over 40 and it's still snowing at the rate of an inch or two an hour."

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center issued warnings for slopes east of the Continental Divide until noon Saturday, saying 2 feet or more of new snow could easily overrun the weak, existing snow pack.

Blizzard conditions hit Colorado's eastern plains, with 5-foot drifts in parts of Elbert County. Severe weather struck parts of southeast Wyoming, western Kansas and Nebraska, where a band of heavy snow stalled, dumping nearly 13 inches in some spots.

Icy snow made driving difficult as far south as New Mexico.

A winter storm warning remained in effect for a broad swath of the western and central plains from northeastern Colorado, across most of Nebraska, and into northeastern Kansas and southeastern Iowa. A blizzard warning was lifted in Colorado but remained for four counties in western Nebraska.

Snow was still falling Friday night, with another 2 to 4 inches expected in Denver and northeastern Colorado. It was expected to taper off by Saturday as the storm moved east.

Earlier Friday, near-zero visibility forced officials to close all 160 miles of westbound Interstate 70 between the Kansas state line and Denver. A 70-mile stretch of eastbound I-70 from Denver to the plains town of Limon (LYE-min) also was closed. Highway officials said the freeway would likely remain closed overnight Friday.

Agate, a small town on the closed section of I-70, reported more than 2 feet of snow by Friday night and winds gusting to 25 mph. Other towns on the eastern plains reported more than a foot of snow and similar wind speeds.