Up to 27 Inches of Snow Blanketed Kansas, Prompting Road Closure

Kansas saw up to 27 inches of snow Tuesday with a band of severe snow that prompted the shutdown of major roads. Several lanes of one of the region's main highways were shut down Tuesday due to a snowfall that moved across the central Rockies and central Plains. 

Three to six inches of snow blanketed Denver on Tuesday, however, a long but narrow area ranging from east-central Colorado to south-central Kansas received the most snowfall. 

(Photo : Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Road Closures as a Result of Severe Snowfall 

"The setup was a narrow band of very intense snow falling at rates of 3 inches per hour or more for several hours over the same locations. This allowed some locations to receive over 20 inches of snow in a short period of time," Senior Meteorologist Mike Doll explained 

One of the worst-hit areas was Mount Sunflower, located north of Weskan, Kansas, where 27 inches of snow fell on Tuesday, as per Accuweather. 

Over 150 miles of Interstate 70 were closed between Limon, Colorado, and Colby, Kansas, because snowplows couldn't keep up with the accumulation. Both I-70 and Highway 40 were closed as a result of the snowstorm. 

Tony Laubach, an AccuWeather National Reporter was in Limon Tuesday following the closure of the road.

Also Read: Meteorologists: Clipper-type Winter Storm Expected to Bring Snow to Midwest, Northeast

Motorists Stranded on Snow-clogged Road

Drivers on Highway 40 in Kansas were stranded when they ignored the barricades and tried to drive through the snow, according to Daily Advent. 

Early Tuesday night, the snow had tapered off and road personnel had enough time to clear the snow to make most of Interstate 70 and Highway 40 usable. 

Tuesday's snowfall totals in Colorado and Kansas were more than many towns and cities in the central and eastern United States had received all winter. 

This is the city's snowiest month since January 2016, when the city received 12.1 inches of snow. Only about half of the 26 inches that fell in Bethune, Colorado, on Tuesday. 

Mount Sunflower, the highest point in Kansas, reported a total of 27 inches of snowfall, which was more than Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia's combined seasonal snowfall total of 24.3 inches as of Tuesday.

However, a huge winter storm is on its way to the Northeastern cities along the Interstate 95 corridor.

(Photo : SOTIRIS DIMITROPOULOS/Eurokinissi/AFP via Getty Images)

More Snow Predicted for Some Regions 

According to AccuWeather's forecast, the weekend storm in the Northeast could turn into a full-fledged blizzard in certain regions, with powerful winds and over a foot of snow

It was reported in the evening of Wednesday that Westbound I-70 at Colby has been reopened by the Kansas Department of Transportation. From the Colorado border to Oakley, U.S. 40 remains closed, as does K-27 in Sherman and Wallace counties. 

Motorists are urged to slow down and exercise additional caution when driving in the wintertime. 

However, Storm Team 12 predicts that some areas of western Kansas may be left to dig themselves out of the snow Tuesday night. 

Related Article: Massive Snowstorm Moving Toward Texas, Expected to Continue Until Wednesday Night

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