Plains states hit with second winter storm in a week

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - A powerful winter storm hit parts of the U.S. southern Plains on Monday, creating blizzard conditions in Oklahoma and Texas and warnings in Kansas and Missouri that caught the brunt of a winter storm last week.

Snow fell at the rate of up to 2 inches per hour in the Amarillo, Texas, area, and the National Weather Service warned against travel, saying 'most roads are impassable.'

Airports in Amarillo and 120 miles to the south in Lubbock, Texas, were closed while Interstate 27 between the cities was shut down because of the blowing snow, state officials said.

Amarillo and parts north of Amarillo in the panhandle reported a foot of snow or more on Monday morning.

Parts of northwestern Oklahoma could get 16 inches to 24 inches of snow, with high winds that could create drifts up to 6 feet high, according to the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said it closed all highways in the Oklahoma panhandle because of blizzard conditions. Interstate 40 in the Texas panhandle was also closed, according to National Weather Service in Amarillo.

In Oklahoma City, some afternoon flights from Will Rogers World Airport were canceled in anticipation of the storm.

Kansas, hit by a foot or more of snow in spots last week, braced for possible worsening conditions on Monday and Tuesday.

Southwestern Kansas was under a blizzard warning and most of the rest of the state was under a winter storm warning. Light snow and sleet that moved into Kansas after sunrise was developing into up to a foot or more of snow with high winds.

In southwestern Kansas, snow began falling overnight in Dodge City, whipped by winds of 30 miles per hour (48.3 kilometers per hour) to 40 mph, said Marc Russell, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

'We have blizzard conditions off and on,' Russell said. 'We had all that snow last week and the ditches are full, so snow will blow over the roads pretty quickly and make them impassible.'

Officials at Wichita, Kansas, Mid-Continent Airport canceled most arriving and departing flights Monday morning. Schools in Wichita and many other districts in central and western Kansas were closed following the blizzard forecast.

'This storm has the potential to be more dangerous than last week's storm,' Kansas Governor Sam Brownback told reporters in a Sunday night briefing. 'Driving will be very dangerous, with whiteout conditions.'

Last week, about 200 miles of Interstate 70 in Kansas were closed because of the massive winter storm that dumped well over a foot of snow in parts of the state. Winds are forecast in the 25 mph to 40 mph range.

Kansas activated an emergency operations center to assist stranded motorists.

From 6 inches to 10 inches of snow was expected in all but the northwestern region of Missouri through midday Tuesday, the weather service said. Kansas City was not expected to start receiving precipitation until midafternoon Monday.

The weather service expects heavy snowfall rates above 1 inch per hour in parts of Missouri, along with blowing and drifting.

The same storm blanketed eastern Colorado with snow on Sunday, prompting the cancellation of 200 flights in and out of Denver International Airport.

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

(Reporting by Kevin Murphy; Additional reporting by Steve Olafson in Oklahoma City; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Greg McCune)