Photo: Denver Post
A powerful winter storm dumped three feet of snow across the Rocky Mountains between Wednesday and Thursday (March 14), with more snow in the forecast. The heavy snow has forced over 800 flights to be canceled at Denver International Airport and caused many roads and highways to shut down.
"The heaviest snow is forecast to be along the Front Range of Colorado, where a few feet of snow could accumulate. Lesser amounts are expected in adjacent areas, but one to two feet of wet snow can be expected down into the Foothills and High Plains, such as Boulder and Denver, Colorado. Hazardous to very difficult travel is expected as heavy snow and intense snow rates at times (1-2 inches plus per hour) will lead to hazardous travel conditions," the National Weather Service said.
The storm also spawned severe thunderstorms across the Midwest, which were responsible for several reports of tornadoes, including one near Volland, Kansas, that the National Weather Service described as "large and extremely dangerous."
The storm also produced massive hailstones, dubbed "gorilla hail" on social media. In some areas, the hail was the size of softballs.
Fourteen states, from Texas up to Michigan, are under severe storm warnings or watches as the storm could produce heavy rains, damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes.
The system will then head toward New England, bringing rain and snow to the region on Friday before heading out to sea.
"These thunderstorms containing heavy rainfall are forecast to push southward from the east-central Plains this morning to the Arklatex region on Friday and into southeastern Texas by Saturday morning near or just behind an advancing cold front. Meanwhile, the low-pressure system will bring widespread rainfall across the southern half of the Great Lakes today, spreading into New England tonight into Friday," the National Weather Service said.