Published: December 15,2015
Winter Storm Echo has moved into the Rockies, shutting down roads and canceling flights with its snowy footprint.
The
winter storm was responsible for more than 350 flight cancellations at
Denver International Airport on Tuesday morning alone, according to
FlightAware. To the north, Interstate 80 eastbound was closed from Rock
Springs, Wyoming, to Rawlins on Tuesday morning because of snowy
conditions, the state's Department of Transportation announced.
(MORE: Winter Storm Echo to Produce Heavy Snow)
The
storm system's dangers have not been limited to snow. Heavy rainfall
caused a car to hydroplane and crash off an embankment in the San Francisco Bay Area, killing two people Sunday.
Northwestern Montana officials declared a state of emergency after melting snow and rain led to widespread flooding.
Here are some of the latest impacts from Winter Storm Echo.
Arizona
After
a day of intense snowfall canceled many schools around the Flagstaff
area, the city announced that classes will be delayed two hours Tuesday
morning as road conditions remain troublesome, ABC 15 Arizona reported.
Officials
are also worried about temperatures dipping to zero degrees or below
for the first time in nearly a year, National Weather Service
meteorologist David Vonderheide told the Associated Press. In Bellemont,
lows are expected to be as cold as minus-10 degrees on Wednesday
morning.
"People wanting to get out to work that morning, it's going to be frigid," Vonderheide told the AP.
Travel was affected by Echo's
snowfall on Monday. Along Interstate 17 north of Camp Verde, traffic was
completely halted due to poor road conditions, the Arizona Republic
report added.
Two areas in Arizona reported at least a foot of snow from Echo, according to NWS storm reports.
California
Two
parents were killed and their young children were injured Sunday after
their vehicle hydroplaned and rolled down an embankment in Alameda
County, according to the AP.
According to Fire
Battalion chief Stephanie Radecke, the couple's 5-year-old son and
6-year-old daughter survived the crash. The boy suffered head trauma.
Parts of the Golden State received two feet of new snow from Echo, while others were impacted by its warm side.
(MORE: A Normal December? Certainly Not)
Areas
near Donner Peak reported 24 inches of snow to the NWS by Monday
afternoon. Gusty winds, as high as 80 mph, were also reported at the
higher elevations Sunday night as the storm raged.
Meanwhile,
the storm system also dumped heavy rain that triggered a mudslide along
Interstate 5 in Castaic, north of Los Angeles. The northbound lanes of
the freeway were closed for hours, which backed up traffic for miles,
authorities told AP.
A 35-mile stretch of Interstate 5
north was closed Sunday night due to flooding at Fort Tejon, located
about 75 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, the report added.
Colorado
The
driver of a snowplow was uninjured after the machine slipped off a
highway in the Colorado foothills and landed upside down in a creek
Tuesday, reports AP. The accident occurred around 4:30 a.m. in Boulder
Canyon.
Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Amy Ford said nothing spiled from the truck into the creek.
While
Echo brought a foot of snow or more to the ski resorts, the storm also
created travel problems in eastern Colorado, including Denver, on
Tuesday.
More than 500 flights were canceled at Denver
International Airport Tuesday morning, FlightAware reported. The airport
reported more than 6 inches of snow on the ground, according to the
NWS.
Most major roadways across the state were
snow-covered, and officials asked residents to avoid travel unless
absolutely necessary.
"The roads are snow-packed,"
Bernie Meier, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service at
Boulder, told the Denver Post. "Work from home if possible. Take your
time getting to work, nice and slow."
(PHOTOS: Images of Winter Storm Echo)
Denver Public Works told the Post
that its full fleet of snow plows will work all day Tuesday to keep
roads as clear as possible, but despite their efforts, many spinouts and
accidents were reported Tuesday morning on the highways.
All
Denver Public Schools were closed Tuesday due to the winter storm, the
district announced. Aurora, Adams and Littleton schools are also closed
Tuesday.
There were many closures in Colorado Springs, as well; the Colorado Springs Gazette has a complete list.
Idaho
Huge
snowfall totals – as much as 26 inches, through Monday morning – were
reported in Idaho's higher elevations as a result of Winter Storm Echo.
According
to Idaho State Police Lt. Fritz Zweigart, there were 33 slide offs, 16
motor assists and 22 crashes reported late Monday afternoon, reports
Local News 8. Multiple people had to be taken to the hospital for minor
injuries.
A skier was badly injured Monday after he
was caught in an avalanche on the Bald Mountains, according to the
Sawtooth Avalanche Center. The 3-foot deep avalanche was approximately
120 feet wide and traveled nearly 1300 vertical feet. It is estimated to
have been a D2 sized avalanche.
The victim had
ventured into an area known as "Baldy out of bounds," due to the fact
that it is outside the Sun Valley ski resort boundaries. He was well
below the top of the avalanche and only carried about 450 feet before
being buried 2-feet deep in snow. He struck a tree and sustained serious
chest and internal injuries. He was found and rescued by his skiing
partner.
The avalanche was likely triggered by the skier or somebody else skiing above them.
Schools in Idaho City were canceled Monday due to the storm, according to the Idaho Statesman.
(MORE: See If You'll Have a White Christmas)
Through Monday morning, Echo's highest snow total in Idaho was 26.3 inches, an unconfirmed report from the Atlanta summit.
The snow allowed some ski resorts to
open full-time for the first time this season, according to a separate
Idaho Statesman report.
Montana
Northwestern
Montana officials declared a state of emergency after two days of
melting snow and rain led to flooding near Libby and Troy, reports ABC
FOX Montana.
According to Sheriff Roby Bowe, six homes near Troy sustained damage.
Echo
dumped nearly two feet of snow on parts of western Montana, and the
wintry weather led to at least 90 accidents statewide on Monday alone,
according to the Great Falls Tribune.
Plowing operations on Lewistown Divide. If you must travel today use extreme caution. #mtwx
By noon Monday
local time, 15 inches of snow had fallen southwest of Belt since the
storm arrived Sunday night, according to the NWS.
Blowing and drifting snow led to
many crashes, including a woman who flipped her pickup truck on
Interstate 15, about 10 miles south of Great Falls, the Tribune also
reported. She suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was transported
to a local hospital, Capt. Chad Dever said.
“People are crashing,” Dever told the Tribune. “A lot of people aren’t slowing down.”
At least 31.1 inches of snow have fallen in Jefferson City, Montana, which is the highest total from Echo so far.
Nebraska
A snow emergency was declared for the town of Sidney, and the local police department urged all residents to refrain from driving until Echo passed.Oregon
Snow,
mudslides and downed trees have kept several roads closed days after
the storm passed, according to the Oregonian. Officials said Oregon
138E, 230 and 62 are still closed, and crews don't know when they'll be
able to reopen those state roads, the report added.
South Dakota
As southern parts of the state received several inches of snow on Tuesday, some officials asked drivers to stay off the roads.
The
Bennett County Sheriff's Office requested all residents to refrain from
traveling in the area through Wednesday morning due to the wintry
conditions that have made roads dangerous. In that county, areas near
Martin received as much as 5 inches of new snow from this storm, NWS
reports said.
The South Dakota Office of Emergency Management reported the closure of Interstate 90 from Wall to Rapid City.
Rapid City schools were canceled Tuesday, according to the Argus Leader.
Utah
Echo dumped as much as 28 inches of snow in the Beehive State as the storm brought plenty of fresh powder for the ski resorts. But the storm also created hazardous road conditions, and officials warned drivers to stay off the roads if possible.Monday night into Tuesday morning, troopers responded to 217 crashes on I-15, I-215 and in the canyons of Utah, Salt Lake and Davis counties, reports KSL. Tuesday morning saw more crashes than the previous day, however there were less widespread delays.
(MORE: Colder Air to Arrive Soon in These Areas)
More than 10,000 Utah homes and businesses were without power Monday morning, according to Rocky Mountain Power. Most of those outages were restored by the end of the day.
Despite the travel difficulties expected from Echo, the snow will be welcomed by a state that's been locked in a drought for more than a year.
"As such, we're still behind pretty significantly," Brian McInerney, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City, told the Salt Lake Tribune. "But we can make up ground pretty fast with a really great storm cycle. This was a great start. This is what we needed."
According to the NWS, the state's highest snow total from Echo was 31 inches at Snowbird.
Wyoming
Echo has dumped more than 10 inches of snow on parts of Wyoming – enough to force authorities to close a 150-mile stretch of Interstate 80.The state's Department of Transportation announced the closure from Rawlins to Cheyenne Tuesday morning. An additional stretch of I-80 had its eastbound lanes shut down from Rawlins to Rock Springs, the DOT also said.
To the north, a 50-mile span of I-25 from Casper to Douglas was also closed Tuesday, according to the DOT.
As of Tuesday morning, areas near Jackson had the state's highest snow total from Echo, with 10.5 inches of new snow on the ground.
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