The winter solstice arrived and brought with it what some are calling a “once in a generation storm” bringing holiday travel to a standstill in many parts of the county, including Colorado.
Temperatures at Denver International Airport dropped from 42 degrees to 5 degrees in an hour Wednesday evening and temperatures across the state for Thursday were predicted to be the coldest in more than three decades.
The weather conditions have caused more than 450 flights at DIA to be canceled on Thursday.
Thursday morning the temperature in Estes Park was minus 9 degrees and wind chill warnings, watches and advisories currently extend from the Northwest to as far south as the Gulf Coast and east into the Eastern U.S. A powerful winter storm is also expected to produce heavy snow and blizzard conditions in the Midwest and Great Lakes. Parts of I-70 near Silverthorn were closed in Colorado due to blizzard conditions.
The wind chill will Thursday could reach as low as -50 degrees across the plains and mountains and from -20 to -30 degrees in the Interstate 25 Urban Corridor. Frostbite can occur when skin is exposed to wind chills of -20 degrees in less than 30 minutes.