HISTORIC WINTER STORM SLAMS COLORADO, WYOMING

A powerful winter storm was pasting Colorado, Wyoming and western Nebraska with heavy snow and making travel hazardous in parts of the region Sunday. The storm was also responsible for spawning tornadoes in the Texas Panhandle.

Midday Sunday, the snowstorm was raging, with winter storm warnings active in Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins in Colorado, and blizzard warnings in Cheyenne and Laramie in Wyoming. Snowfall totals of 12 to 20 inches were expected in northern Colorado through Sunday night, with 20 to 30 inches in southeastern Wyoming.

Heavier amounts, topping 3 feet, are possible in some of the highest terrain. Through early afternoon, 28.5 inches of snow had fallen near Buckhorn Mountain about 20 miles west of Fort Collins.

Cheyenne had received 25.8 inches of snow through noon local time, clinching a record for its biggest twoday snow total. In Cheyenne and throughout southeastern Wyoming, the National Weather Service forecast “difficult to impossible travel conditions” with “snowpacked roadways and whiteout conditions.”

Wind gusts had topped 50 mph in Cheyenne. Ten inches fell in four hours before sunrise, according to the National Weather Service. Weather radar indicated a lightning strike southwest of Cheyenne, where thundersnow occurred. The National Weather Service office in Cheyenne described the deteriorating conditions as “incredibly dangerous” in its morning forecast discussion.

In Colorado, about 8 to 15 inches had fallen in the Denver area through midday and 15 to 17 inches in Fort Collins.

Denver International Airport, which reported 11.1 inches early Sunday morning, shut down all runways midday after five hours of moderate to heavy snow, winds gusting between 20 and 40 mph, and a visibility of one-quarter mile or less.

A special bulletin from the National Weather Service early Sunday highlighted the potential for snowfall rates of up to 2 to 3 inches per hour in northern Colorado, southeastern Wyoming and western Nebraska through early afternoon.

In some areas, the water content of the snow was bringing down trees and power lines.

MICHAEL CIAGLO GETTY IMAGES People cross Colfax Avenue as a sign warns of heavy snow Sunday in Denver. More than 1,800 flights into and out of Denver have been canceled and highways around the state closed as a winter storm hits the state.