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Colorado digs out again; storm moves onto Plains

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published December 31, 2006

DENVER - A winter storm stretching nearly from Canada to Mexico rolled out of the Rockies on Saturday, sparing Denver another round of heavy snow but trapping drivers farther east in 10-foot drifts.

Denver had expected a foot or more of additional snow through today, but the storm trudged northeast from New Mexico into the Texas panhandle. Parts of eastern Colorado expected up to 2 feet, along with high winds.

"It's still a very powerful storm," said meteorologist Jim Kalina of the National Weather Service.

National Guard troops in tracked vehicles crawled through whiteout conditions to rescue motorists who became stranded in the region's second blizzard during the busy holiday travel season.

The storm, which hampered air travel through Denver on Thursday and Friday, spread snow from New Mexico to the Dakotas and generated strong thunderstorms in the lower Mississippi Valley.

Ice and strong winds knocked out power to at least 14,000 people in Kansas, where up to 18 inches of snow had fallen by Saturday in some areas. Up to a foot fell in parts of Nebraska.

More than 15 inches of snow fell at the airport in Albuquerque, N.M., by noon Saturday, setting records. Bismarck, N.D., reported more than 7 inches of snow, and areas south could get 14 inches.

One traffic death was blamed on the storm in Colorado and a tornado killed one person Friday in Texas. The storm also created severe thunderstorms in the South. A possible tornado was reported Saturday in southern Louisiana.

[Last modified December 31, 2006, 00:31:29]