Spring snows hit eastern slope of Rockies

DENVER, April 17 (UPI) -- A spring snowstorm hit Wyoming and Colorado along the Front Range of the Rockies, closing highways and schools throughout the region.

By noon, almost 2 feet of snow had fallen in Virginia Dale in northern Colorado near the Wyoming line, The Denver Post reported. The National Weather Service predicted total accumulations of 3 feet in some mountain areas and 2 feet in some Denver suburbs.

In Denver and the surrounding area, many schools ended the day early.

Kyle Fredin, an NWS spokesman, said that in the early morning snow was falling above 5,300 feet and rain below that. The snow was full of moisture, good news for the area although difficult to shovel.

"It's kind of like Sierra cement," Fredin told the Post. "It's real high water content packed in like peanut butter."

Joe Fuentes, a spokesman for Xcel Energy, said that hundreds of homes and businesses lost electricity in the morning because of heavy snow bringing down power lines.