Ice storms and blizzards pummel the central US on the day after Christmas

A winter storm is pummeling much of the central United States a day after Christmas

MINNEAPOLIS -- From an ice storm in North Dakota that is sealing windows shut, to blizzard conditions in Colorado that caused scores of airport delays and cancellations, a winter storm pummeled much of the central United States on Tuesday, the day after Christmas.

“The heavy snow conditions in the Plains should be slowly alleviating today, but it’ll be very slow. Even when the snow ends, the high winds should keep visibility near zero — whiteout conditions — for a decent part of today,” said Weather Prediction Center Forecaster David Roth.

Laura Schmidt-Dockter wore ice spikes on her shoes as she walked outside to the trash can in Bismarck, North Dakota. Her driveway was sheer ice, she said. A neighbor took to the street on ice skates. “It’s actually not bad,” the neighbor quipped as he skated by, in a short video that Schmidt-Dockter posted to social media.

At Denver International Airport, there were 200 delays and 18 cancellations as of midday Tuesday, according to the tracking website FlightAware. Blizzard conditions on Interstate 70, from Denver to Kansas, closed the highway early Tuesday but it reopened later in the morning.

Blizzard warnings were in effect mid-Tuesday for western portions of South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas, along with eastern portions of Colorado and Wyoming. Ice storm warnings and winter weather advisories remained in place in South Dakota, North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.