DENVER (AP) - People in Colorado and Wyoming were urged to stay home Wednesday night as a powerful spring storm brought heavy snow, whiteout conditions and gusty winds to parts of the region.
The warning came less than a month after a blizzard stranded drivers while paralyzing parts of the two states.
The Colorado Department of Transportation closed a 150-mile (241-kilometer) stretch of Interstate 76 from just northeast of Denver to the Nebraska state line Wednesday afternoon because of blowing snow. The National Weather Service warned of near zero visibility on the eastern plains.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis activated the National Guard in case it’s needed to rescue stranded motorists. The Guard said Wednesday that 50 soldiers and 24 vehicles, including some that have tank-like treads for negotiating deep snow, would be positioned from Longmont to Colorado Springs.
Meanwhile, about half of the flights at Denver International Airport were scratched ahead of the storm that approached a day after temperatures reached into the 70s and just after firefighters battled wildfires that prompted some evacuations.
Many school districts held classes for only a half-day because of the storm.
Local governments in Denver, Cheyenne and elsewhere closed offices early to give workers time to commute before conditions deteriorated. The Colorado State Patrol encouraged other employers to do the same to cut down on traffic during the storm.
The agency’s post in Golden invoked a character from “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” in a tweet asking drivers to avoid unnecessary travel to help keep first responders and highway workers safe.
“Folks, even Yukon Cornelius knew when to take shelter in the storm,” it said.
During the March 13 blizzard, state trooper Cpl. Daniel Groves was struck and killed by a car as he helped a driver who had slid off Interstate 76 north of Denver.
In addition, the Colorado National Guard retrieved 75 people stranded in their cars during the storm, along with two dogs.
The latest blizzard is expected to cause problems in parts of the states until mid-Thursday.
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