Interstates and highways were shut down Monday night as a large winter weather system brought heavy snow , fierce winds and ice to at least five states in the West and Midwest . There were blizzard conditions in parts of western Kansas and southeast Colorado , with visibility of less than a quarter-mile , said Ariel Cohen , a meteorologist with the National Weather Service 's Storm Prediction Center in Norman , Oklahoma . A blizzard warning was in effect for those areas along with northeastern New Mexico , the northwest Texas panhandle and the Oklahoma panhandle , he said . The severe weather was starting to affect Missouri late Monday , with a winter weather advisory in effect for the northwest corner of the state . The New Mexico State Police shut down Interstate 40 , a major east-west artery , from Albuquerque to the Texas state line , saying there was zero visibility due to blowing snow . Interstate 25 was shut down from just north of Albuquerque to the Colorado state line because of the blizzard conditions , which included snow-packed and icy roads . Are you there ? Tell us about it . The state police also shut down U.S. and state highways in the northeast corner of the state . Texas authorities closed I-40 westbound in the Texas panhandle at New Mexico 's request . The Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Department of Transportation said motel rooms had already filled in Tucumcari , New Mexico , the first major town on I-40 across the state line , because drivers were n't allowed to travel any farther on the highway . Cohen called it a strong storm system that is producing `` very hazardous '' conditions . While such storms typically occur during the winter months , he said , the large area of strong winds combined with the snow is unusual . Texas Gov . Rick Perry activated the Texas Military Forces as a precautionary measure to provide any needed assistance on the roads , his office said . Snow accumulations of up to 6 inches were likely , with higher accumulations expected across the northwest Texas Panhandle , Perry 's office said . Vehicle crashes were being reported around Amarillo , which lies along I-40 on the Panhandle , said Trooper Gabe Medrano of the Texas Department of Public Safety . He said it was already snowing heavily Monday evening and was getting worse . `` We have whiteout conditions for the north of Amarillo at this point , '' he said , adding the roads will probably freeze over once the snow stops . `` It 's going to make for pretty bad conditions . '' Flights were canceled by mid-afternoon at the Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport , which meant morning departures were scrubbed , spokesman Patrick Rhodes said . But `` nothing much '' has happened at the airport , he said , and he expected operations to be back to normal by mid-morning Tuesday . To the north , in the Oklahoma Panhandle , U.S. highways were closed and transportation workers were salting the roads , according to Michaelann Ootean of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management . Roads and highways were `` completely snow-packed '' or covered with ice in much of western Kansas , according to the state 's Department of Transportation . They included I-70 , which crosses the state from west to east , and I-135 through Salina . Two U.S. highways , 50 and 54 , were shut in southwest Kansas . The DOT said U.S. 50 was closed because of blizzard conditions and `` multiple accidents '' in Colorado . The Colorado Department of Transportation shut down highways across the southeastern part of the state because of snow and icy conditions . I-25 was shut southbound from Pueblo to the New Mexico state line , and the DOT said lodging was unavailable south of Colorado City . Northbound I-25 remained open .
Roads are closed in Oklahoma and Kansas . A blizzard warning is in effect for five states . New Mexico State Police shut down two interstates . Zero visibility is reported along some roads .