Denver Mega Storm: 43 inches; I-70 closed

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A deslolate stretch of I-70 is closed in blizzard conditions east of Denver.

A major winter storm is halting travel and burying Denver and nearby areas with anywhere from 1 to nearly 4 feet of snow. Two feet of snow has fallen in metro Denver and suburbs. In the mountains west of Denver, incredible snowfall totals of 3 to almost 4 feet are reported. Check out some of these amazing snowfall totals, some of which exceed a year's worth of snow for many Midwestern Cities.

0908 AM HEAVY SNOW 3 SE PINECLIFFE 39.90N 105.39W

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10/29/2009 M43.8 INCH JEFFERSON CO TRAINED SPOTTER

COAL CREEK CANYON

0800 AM HEAVY SNOW 2 NNW BLACK HAWK 39.83N 105.51W

10/29/2009 M40.0 INCH GILPIN CO AMATEUR RADIO

0128 PM HEAVY SNOW 1 S EVERGREEN 39.62N 105.34W

10/29/2009 M38.5 INCH JEFFERSON CO TRAINED SPOTTER

0110 PM HEAVY SNOW 3 SW CONIFER 39.49N 105.34W

10/29/2009 M37.0 INCH JEFFERSON CO TRAINED SPOTTER

1141 AM HEAVY SNOW LITTLETON 39.59N 105.01W

10/29/2009 M24.5 INCH ARAPAHOE CO TRAINED SPOTTER

0954 AM HEAVY SNOW 5 NW DENVER 39.78N 105.03W

10/29/2009 M23.0 INCH DENVER CO NWS EMPLOYEE

1145 AM HEAVY SNOW 1 E CASTLE ROCK 39.38N 104.83W

10/29/2009 M21.5 INCH DOUGLAS CO TRAINED SPOTTER

To put these amounts in perspective, the 43.8" recorded so far in Coal Creek Canyon west of Denver is more than the average annual snowfall for Chicago (38") and Sioux Falls (40.6").

It also approaches the average annual snowfall for the Twin Cities is 55.9 inches.

Blizzard conditions are occurring east of Denver on the Colorado high plains. I-70 is closed from east of Denver to the Kansas state line Thursday afternoon.

Commuters battle heavy snow along I-25 in Denver Thursday. This is a historic storm for Denver. It will be interesting to see what records are broken as the storm wraps up Friday. PH