Snow, Winds Impede Travel in Wyoming

A blustery snowstorm in the central Rockies whipped up near blizzard conditions Monday in parts of Wyoming, leaving abandoned vehicles littering icy highways, while much of the East enjoyed record warmth.

Workers cleaned up in Richmond, Va., as floodwaters from the James River began to recede from its rain-swollen crest on Sunday, when it was almost 16 feet above flood stage and left some low-lying areas under as much as six feet of water.

The wintry storm in the West dumped snow in the higher elevations of southern Wyoming, eastern Utah and northern Colorado after leaving Salt Lake City under a foot of snow over the weekend.

Near blizzard conditions were reported across parts of southeastern Wyoming, as snow was whipped by winds of up to 50 m.p.h. Many drivers abandoned their vehicles on snow- and ice-packed highways as visibility was reduced to near zero. Winds gusted to 58 m.p.h. at Pueblo, Colo.

“There are cars and trucks and semis all over the road,” said Joanne Reeder of Buford, Wyo., midway between Cheyenne and Laramie on Interstate 80.

“There doesn’t seem to be anybody moving at all,” added Ruby Brown of the Husky Terminal truck stop west of Cheyenne. “I think the problem is the visibility. It’s not pretty out there at all.”

About a dozen cars and trucks were reported in ditches or parked in the emergency lanes of a nine-mile stretch of Interstate 25 between Cheyenne and the Colorado border. U.S. 85 was closed from Cheyenne to the Colorado border.

Early-morning temperatures dropped into the 20s and 30s in parts of Wyoming and Colorado. Travelers’ and livestock advisories were posted for the region through Monday, with up to 10 inches of snow forecast.

Ahead of the snow was a cold front expected to chill the Mississippi Valley and the southern half of the Plains by today. Scattered showers Monday morning dotted parts of western Minnesota and eastern South Dakota into Nebraska and Kansas.

Much of the nation east of the Mississippi River was enjoying sunshine and summery temperatures in the 70s and 80s.