Three feet of snow fell in the high areas of Wyoming and Colorado starting Sunday, closing nearly 400 miles of the Interstate-80 Highway, shutting down a major trucking highway for the nation. The Spring snowstorm also downed power lines shutting down power in parts of the region.

Snow is not an unfamiliar sight in the region in May, but, this snowfall snarled traffic as drivers abandoned their stranded vehicles and truckers filled up the rest stops along the burdened highway. At least one fatal accident was attributed to this recent snowfall today southwest of Denver.

Denver International Airport reported that 60 of its approximately 1,600 flights was cancelled due to snowfall measuring between four and seven inches. Power also failed for a brief period of time at the airport, shutting down elevators and escalators. But, personnel at the airport soon had backup power up using backup generators.

Unlike Colorado, other parts of the west are still suffering from severe drought conditions. The Texas Panhandle, and parts of southern California are in the midst of some of the worse drought conditions in the country. In California, Santa Ana winds are raising the fire danger there where tinderbox conditions prevail.

Skiers in Colorado rushed to the Arapahoe Basin to take part in the snowfall and skiing. at the only ski resort still open.

  colorado, highways, nation, power outages, skiers, snowfall, truckers, wyoming