The storm dumped up to 7 feet of wet, heavy snow in the mountains and paralyzed a large swath of Colorado and Wyoming that is home to more than 3.5 million people. It forced officials to close parts of Interstates 70, 80 and 25, and National Guard troops were sent to rescue stranded motorists.
The storm, which lumbered into Colorado with rain turning to snow Monday and Tuesday, was heading slowly east and expected to taper off later Wednesday. A blizzard warning remained in effect from the Colorado-Wyoming line to New Mexico.
The snow was blamed for at least one traffic death in Wyoming, where Interstates 25 and 80 remained closed, isolating Cheyenne and other communities. Interstate 70 remained closed from the Rockies almost to the Kansas line.
Around the region, gusts whipped snow into drifts that blocked streets and driveways, turning abandoned cars and trucks into marshmallowy mounds.
Laramie County Sheriff Danny Glick did not even try to get to work from his home on the prairie about 15 miles east of town.
"I can walk on top of my barn," he said. Stranded inside were chickens, geese - and the heavy equipment he needed to dig through the 9-foot drifts.
Instead, he turned to an old-fashioned method. "It's called a shovel," he said.
The Colorado National Guard sent 21 Humvees to rescue stranded motorists. In some cities, police ticketed drivers who didn't have a good reason to be out.
Denver security manager Keith Moore waited two hours for a bus that never showed up, finally catching a ride with a snowplow driver. "It was great," Moore said. "I got to smoke and everything."
Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., was stranded near the Denver airport but found the storm's silver lining: "We've had such a terrible drought, and this will help with our water situation."
Both states needed the moisture after months of drought conditions.
Travelers filled up motels along the closed interstates, and hundreds of truck drivers slept in their rigs.
Denver received 29.5 inches since Monday, the largest amount since December 1913, when 45.7 inches fell, according to the National Weather Service.
In the mountains west of the city, wind swept 6-foot snow accumulations into 8-foot drifts. The American Red Cross turned four public buildings into shelters for 350 motorists in Idaho Springs, 35 miles west of Denver.
Mary Ning's car was stuck in more than 4 feet of snow in Evergreen, in the foothills about 25 miles west of Denver. Residents pooled food and spent hours shoveling, she said. "We got to know our neighbors," she said.
Almost 1 1/2 feet of wet, heavy flakes fell Wednesday at Denver International Airport and drifted to 4 feet. About 3,700 travelers who spent the night sleeping on the floor, couches and cots were moved to a separate concourse as a precaution after the tear several hundred feet long was discovered in the Teflon-coated, Fiberglas roof of the main terminal.
"This is a record-breaking storm that now is a roof breaker," said assistant airport manager Amy Bourgeron. Passengers were allowed into the terminal after the company that manufactured the material inspected the tear and determined it was safe.
Among the travelers stuck there was the University of Vermont men's basketball team, headed to Salt Lake City for its first-ever NCAA tournament. They were slated to play Arizona on Thursday.
At least 200 people were stranded at the Greyhound bus station in downtown Denver. Roofs collapsed on at least 100 homes and businesses in Denver, including a downtown nightclub and a 25,000-square-foot warehouse in northeast Denver, fire officials said.
The storm brought back memories of the December 1982 blizzard, which dropped 2 feet of snow on Denver in 24 hours, making major streets impassable for several days.
The Colorado Legislature canceled its session Wednesday, and most other government offices and businesses - including post offices - were also closed.
The 16 inches of snow that fell on the Cheyenne airport Tuesday broke a single-day record for that date; the previous record of 11.5 inches dated to 1979.
The blizzard was too much even for some ski resorts. At Eldora, a small resort 21 miles west of Boulder, an avalanche Tuesday closed the only road and forced about 250 people into a giant sleepover. Though rescuers weren't expected until Thursday, the resort's restaurants were keeping everyone fed.
"People are camped out on the floor, making themselves at home," Eldora marketing director Rob Linde said by telephone.
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The storm, which lumbered into Colorado with rain turning to snow Monday and Tuesday, was heading slowly east and expected to taper off later Wednesday. A blizzard warning remained in effect from the Colorado-Wyoming line to New Mexico.
The snow was blamed for at least one traffic death in Wyoming, where Interstates 25 and 80 remained closed, isolating Cheyenne and other communities. Interstate 70 remained closed from the Rockies almost to the Kansas line.
Around the region, gusts whipped snow into drifts that blocked streets and driveways, turning abandoned cars and trucks into marshmallowy mounds.
Laramie County Sheriff Danny Glick did not even try to get to work from his home on the prairie about 15 miles east of town.
"I can walk on top of my barn," he said. Stranded inside were chickens, geese - and the heavy equipment he needed to dig through the 9-foot drifts.
Instead, he turned to an old-fashioned method. "It's called a shovel," he said.
The Colorado National Guard sent 21 Humvees to rescue stranded motorists. In some cities, police ticketed drivers who didn't have a good reason to be out.
Denver security manager Keith Moore waited two hours for a bus that never showed up, finally catching a ride with a snowplow driver. "It was great," Moore said. "I got to smoke and everything."
Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., was stranded near the Denver airport but found the storm's silver lining: "We've had such a terrible drought, and this will help with our water situation."
Both states needed the moisture after months of drought conditions.
Travelers filled up motels along the closed interstates, and hundreds of truck drivers slept in their rigs.
Denver received 29.5 inches since Monday, the largest amount since December 1913, when 45.7 inches fell, according to the National Weather Service.
In the mountains west of the city, wind swept 6-foot snow accumulations into 8-foot drifts. The American Red Cross turned four public buildings into shelters for 350 motorists in Idaho Springs, 35 miles west of Denver.
Mary Ning's car was stuck in more than 4 feet of snow in Evergreen, in the foothills about 25 miles west of Denver. Residents pooled food and spent hours shoveling, she said. "We got to know our neighbors," she said.
Almost 1 1/2 feet of wet, heavy flakes fell Wednesday at Denver International Airport and drifted to 4 feet. About 3,700 travelers who spent the night sleeping on the floor, couches and cots were moved to a separate concourse as a precaution after the tear several hundred feet long was discovered in the Teflon-coated, Fiberglas roof of the main terminal.
"This is a record-breaking storm that now is a roof breaker," said assistant airport manager Amy Bourgeron. Passengers were allowed into the terminal after the company that manufactured the material inspected the tear and determined it was safe.
Among the travelers stuck there was the University of Vermont men's basketball team, headed to Salt Lake City for its first-ever NCAA tournament. They were slated to play Arizona on Thursday.
At least 200 people were stranded at the Greyhound bus station in downtown Denver. Roofs collapsed on at least 100 homes and businesses in Denver, including a downtown nightclub and a 25,000-square-foot warehouse in northeast Denver, fire officials said.
The storm brought back memories of the December 1982 blizzard, which dropped 2 feet of snow on Denver in 24 hours, making major streets impassable for several days.
The Colorado Legislature canceled its session Wednesday, and most other government offices and businesses - including post offices - were also closed.
The 16 inches of snow that fell on the Cheyenne airport Tuesday broke a single-day record for that date; the previous record of 11.5 inches dated to 1979.
The blizzard was too much even for some ski resorts. At Eldora, a small resort 21 miles west of Boulder, an avalanche Tuesday closed the only road and forced about 250 people into a giant sleepover. Though rescuers weren't expected until Thursday, the resort's restaurants were keeping everyone fed.
"People are camped out on the floor, making themselves at home," Eldora marketing director Rob Linde said by telephone.
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