Blizzard warning continues in Colorado, winter storm causes road closures, school closings

Both directions of I-70 reopened from US 40 to the Kansas border. 

The Colorado State Patrol La Junta tweeted that "All roads in NE Colorado are closed" on Tuesday afternoon. State troopers are urging drivers to "not go around road closure gates or barriers."

As of 5:07pm, CDOT confirms the following roadways are closed due to blizzard conditions:

I-76: EB Hudson to Nebraska, WB Nebraska to Brush
US 6: Brush to Nebraska
US 385: Holyoke to Julesburg
US 385: Wray to Burlington
US 287: Kit Carson to Eads
US 138: Sterling to Nebraska
CO 86: Kiowa to I-70
CO 59: Yuma to Sedgwick
CO 59: I-70 to Cope
CO 52: Fort Morgan to CO 14
CO 52: EB Hudson to Wiggins
CO 392 Eastbound: US 85 to CO 14
CO 71: Limon to Nebraska
US 34: Brush to Nebraska
US 34: EB Kersey to Wiggins
US 36: Byers to Kansas
CO 6: US 36 to Sterling
US 385: US 36-Julesburg
CO 138: Sterling to Nebraska
CO 63: Akron to Atwood
CO 113: Sterling to Nebraska
CO 14: US 85 to Sterling
CO 23: Holyoke to Nebraska
US 24: Seibert to Burlington
US 385 Cheyenne Wells to Burlington

"Do we hang out until everything goes? And how long is that going to be?" asked Colleen Kassel, as she and her husband waited on the side of a snowy highway. It's a question that's on every stranded traveler's mind. 

"A lot of disappointment and wonderment, cause where do we go from now?" Colleen's husband, Ron, added. 

The Kassels are two of many travelers impacted by the shutdown of I-70 from Airpark Road, east to the Kansas border. CDOT says blizzard conditions shut the highway down in both directions at 4 a.m. Tuesday. Even with snowfall easing, high winds can blow and drift snow to create visibility concerns. 

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At noon on Tuesday reporter Marissa Armas showed video of one of the main roads in Fort Morgan during the blizzard. Virtually no cars were present and she said it was looking "like a ghost town."

The Morgan County Sheriff's Office also shared a photo of cattle in the snowy, windy conditions on Colorado's Eastern Plains.

Colorado State Patrol confirmed there were no roads open into or our of northeast Colorado as of 11 am. on Tuesday during the Winter Storm. 

Interstate 70 was closed at daybreak on Tuesday from the eastern part of the Denver metro area to the Kansas state line. The closure is in both directions.

The closure is from Airpark Road in Aurora to the Kansas state line.

A strong winter storm has brought high winds and snow to the area. A blizzard warning is in effect.

A winter storm has brought snowy and windy conditions to the Fort Morgan area on Colorado's Eastern Plains. Interstate 76 was closed in both directions Tuesday morning from Brush, just east of Fort Morgan, to the Colorado-Nebraska border.

"Limiting non-essential travel will help our crews address the snowy highways, creating safer conditions for motorists and our workers," officials with the Colorado Department of Transportation wrote in a news release.

Highway 6 from Brush to Nebraska is also closed.

Colorado State Patrol tweeted every roadway in Logan, Phillips and Sedgwick counties was being shut down on Tuesday morning. 

Drivers were being asked not to drive around closed gates or signs in these areas. 

Besides the closures of Interstate 70, Interstate 76 and Highway 6 in eastern Colorado on Tuesday morning, the winter storm has also led to numerous other road closures. At 7:30 a.m. the following roads were all closed on Colorado's Eastern Plains:

US-385: Holyoke to Julesburg 

US-40: Limon to Kit Carson 

US-138: Sterling to Nebraska 

CO-86: Kiowa to I-70 

CO-94: US-40/287 to Punkin Center 

CO-59: Seibert to Kit Carson 

CO-59: Yuma to Sedgwick

CO-59: I-70 to Cope

CO-52: Ft. Morgan to CO-14 

EB CO-392: US-85 to CO-14 

CO-71: Brush to Nebraska 

US-40: Kit Carson to Limon 

US-34: Brush to Nebraska

US-36: Last Chance to Kansas

CO-6: US 36 to Sterling

US-385: US 36-Julesburg

CO-138: Sterling to Nebraska

CO-63: Akron to Atwood

CO-113: Sterling to Nebraska

CO-14: US 85 to Sterling

A blizzard warning continues for the northeast plains through Tuesday night. Travel is not recommended east of the Denver metro area as a First Alert Weather Day continues.

Communities in northeast Colorado such as Fort Morgan, Sterling, Julesburg, Holyoke, Wray, Limon, and Burlington remain under the warning through midnight Tuesday night. The combination of snow and wind will create whiteout conditions at times. Northwest winds could reach as high as 65 mph.

Here's the full list of schools that were closed on Tuesday morning due to the winter storm:

Shovels, salt, and even snow blowers were flying off the shelves at a Fort Morgan hardware store on Monday as residents prepared for the big winter storm.

Ackley ACE employee Jacob Fritzler said the blizzard was the talk of the town for a few days.