DENVER—After nearly a week of what felt like nonstop snowfall, the Denver metro area woke up Saturday to the sights and sounds of snow shovels and plows scraping the pavement as the slow-moving storm began to move out of Colorado.
The system that slowly pushed its way through the state earlier this week dumped more than 19 inches of snow in parts of Denver over the past three days, according to the National Weather Service . The southeast area of the state was the hardest hit, with more than 3 feet recorded on La Veta Pass in the past 72 hours.
Interstate travel reached a standstill as major portions of Interstate 70 and Interstate 25 were shut down due to poor conditions. Gov. Jared Polis declared a disaster emergency and activated members of the Colorado National Guard as several drivers became stranded on the Eastern Plains.
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Both I-25 and I-70 have since reopened, but several highways remain closed in the eastern part of the state as of Saturday morning, according to the Colorado Department of Transpiration .