Blizzard warning in effect for Colorado as spring snowstorm moves east

DENVER, March 23 (UPI) -- A blizzard warning is in effect in Colorado as a strong winter storm system continues moving through the Central Rockies toward the Great Lakes and New England.

More than a foot of snow is expected to fall in some areas affected by the storm system. A blizzard warning has been announced for northeast Colorado, and parts of southeast Wyoming, the western Nebraska panhandle and northwest Kansas.

Boulder, Colo., has already seen a foot of snow. Snow has been falling at a rate of 2 inches per hour in some areas. Cheyenne, Wyo., has also seen similar heavy snowfall.

Up to 16 inches of snow were recorded in California's Sierra Nevada on Tuesday morning. The winter storm will move through a 2,000-mile long stretch from the Rockies to the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes before reaching northern New England on Friday. A winter storm warning is in effect throughout the affected stretch.

In Colorado, the majority of school districts and government offices under the blizzard warning were closed Wednesday. The Colorado Senate in Denver and several universities, including the University of Northern Colorado and the University of Colorado Boulder, also were closed.