Heavy Snow And Wind Shuts Down Denver International

Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska are experiencing Mother Nature's winter fury today as the tri-state area gets "creamed" with heavy snow and winds. Snow is reportedly drifting to five feet driven by winds gusting to 40 mph.

The storm forced the closure of Denver International Airport and other regional airports including Fort Collins-Loveland and Front Range.

A lead forecaster with the US Storm Prediction Center in Norman, OK told Bloomberg, "Travel is not going to be advised anywhere. The system will weaken as we move into Friday."

Denver remains under a blizzard warning until noon today.

Denver International is expected to remain closed throughout today into the evening. Sources are saying 700 flights have been cancelled so far stranding many unlucky holiday travelers at the airport.

The National Weather Service says Glen Haven near Fort Collins got 52 inches of snowfall so far in the storm. The airport reported 19 inches with another four expected this morning.

Forecasters are calling for as much as six inches of snow for parts of Kansas as the system moves eastward.

Airport officials said they were expecting around 163,000 travelers today which would have been the biggest day for the week.

Airlines at Denver are wondering how they'll find seats on later flights for the passengers stranded there -- most airplanes are already full this time of year.

Colorado's Governor Bill Owens has declared an emergency and activated the state's National Guard to help. Roads across the area are closed and even the US Postal Service has suspended deliveries -- it was only able to meet about 20% of deliveries yesterday.

Denver's latest TAF:

KDEN 211457Z 211512 01018KT 1/2SM SN FZFG VV005
     FM1700 01016KT 2SM -SN SCT008 BKN015 OVC025
     FM1900 36015G20KT 3SM -SN SCT015 BKN030
     FM2100 34010KT P6SM VCSH SCT030 BKN060
     FM0200 31006KT P6SM SCT060
     FM0600 22010KT P6SM FEW100

FMI: www.flydenver.com, www.nws.noaa.gov