A dangerous winter storm is pummelling parts of the US Rockies and western Plains with heavy snow, shutting down Denver's busy airport and forcing major highways to close.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Snowfall accumulations are expected to reach a metre or more in high-altitude areas.
In Cheyenne, Wyoming, more than 65cm of snow had fallen by noon on Sunday, the National Weather Service reported, setting a new two-day record for the city.
"STAY HOME. YOU WILL BE STRANDED!" the agency's Cheyenne office posted on Twitter.
In eastern Colorado, 70km/h wind gusts prompted a blizzard warning for about a 145km 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 30cm of snow fell by midday, with another 20cm likely before the storm wanes by nightfall, said NWS meteorologist Frank Cooper in Boulder.
"The wind has really become an issue," he 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 almost 50cm of snow by lunchtime.
The closure will have minimal impact on airport operations, as more than 2000 weekend flights were already cancelled, including 1346 on Sunday, officials said.
The heavy and wet snow is threatening trees and power lines. More than 57,000 customers were without power on Sunday in Colorado, according to an outage tracker maintained by utility Xcel Energy.
Interstates 70 and 25, Colorado's the main roadways, were shut down as of Sunday afternoon. Interstate 80, which runs east-west across Wyoming, was also closed.
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.
Australian Associated Press