Blizzard Warning in Great Plains, 'Crippling, Historic Blizzard' Second Storm in a Week

The National Weather Service announced on their website "DO NOT TRAVEL" issuing blizzard warnings and watches in Kansas and Oklahoma through late Monday as storm is tracked north and east across West Texas toward Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. Referring to the storm as "a crippling, historic blizzard."

Monday the winter storm hit parts of southern Plains snows were falling at a rate of 2 to 3 inches an hour in Amarillo, Texas area.

Airports and roads in Texas are closed due to blowing snow and whiteout conditions caused the state Department of Transportation to pull all of its snowplows off the roads, said Texas DOT spokesman Paul Braun.

"It's just a good day to stay home," Braun said.

"This is one of the worst ones we've had for a while," he said. "And we kind of know snow up here."

Even Kansas that was hit by a snowstorm just last week is bracing for possible worsening conditions on Monday and Tuesday.

"Snow amounts are varying, but we could see upward of a foot across south-central Kansas with lesser amounts across west-central and central Kansas," said Jeff Johnson, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Dodge City, Kansas.

"The unprecedented nature of this much snow in this short a period of time will create conditions ... across the entire city that are basically unprecedented for the traveling public," Joe Pajor of the Wichita, Kansas, Public Works and Utilities department, told CNN affiliate KSN.

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback on Sunday extended the state of emergency declaration he signed last week to include the new storm.

"This storm has the potential to be more dangerous than last week's storm," Brownback said at a briefing late Sunday. He urged drivers to "stay off the road unless it's absolutely critical."

The weather service said it is expecting from 6 inches to 10 inches of snow in all but the northwestern region of Missouri through midday Tuesday.

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper ordered all non-essential state employees to work two hours later than scheduled on Monday to give Denver snow plow drivers more time to clear city streets.

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