very seriously chewing about an inch off the measured 13 1/2 inches. these husky pups loved the 9 inches in arvada. lucy loved running through the bakers dozen in northglenn. 1 1/2 feet buried trucks in bellvue. oso at seven weeks loched seeing more than 10 inches of snow at his littleton home. in -- loved seeing more than 10- inch of snow at his littleton home. in washington county it took tractors to dig out their extra pen. the snow didn't stop the kids from hopping on the trampoline in morrison. this is dexter on a dream day. 14 inches in new castle and highland ranch 9 1/2. in longmont, glenwood springs 23. another 7 in broomfield and enough for clark to make snow angels on his snow day in aurora. runs of viewers sent us their snow -- hundreds of viewers sent us their snow pictures

and albert stone using some creativity sent us patio furniture on patio furniture. all that snow meant a lot of closures. businesses, highways, college camps and many of the largest school districts, neighborhoods across metro denver could be digging out for several days with overnight temperatures expected in the single digits through friday. in higher elevations heavy snow has increased the avalanche threat. meteorologist kathy sabine joins us. it took just two days to blast by february's average snowfall for denver. >> amazing, it really is. you know me. i love to tell the weather story with kids and animals, so i love the start to our newscast there. we did have a lot of wind this afternoon creating blowing and drifts. we had drifts 2 to 4 feet just south and east of the city. thankfully we do have less wind now, roads snowpacked and icy in some areas. the totals were remarkable, north, south and east 1 to 2 feet of snow along the front

as the snow ends the cold settles in for a while. on the backside of our departing low pressure system winds out of the north, northwest continue with that winter storm warning around concerns for high avalanche danger with the snow loaded peaks on some of the higher passes and ahead of it blizzard conditions and a tornado watch issued for jackson and for us tonight lighter winds and cold. that means the snowpacked and icy roads will remain so overnight and for the day tomorrow. coming up we'll talk about if we get out of the deep freeze, highs will not get above freezing tomorrow but they will later in the week and people are curious about california's forecast as well for the little

vehicles of all sizes and description have been slipping and sliding today. some have gone completely off the roads. this car slid off east hampden and into a brick wall at south university. only the driver was inside the car and didn't appear injured and people who drive for a living are not immune to the challenges of navigating snowpacked roads. one of rtd's higher capacity buses came a little too close to a tree in arvada. there are no reports of injuries and the damage appears minimal so far. blowing and drifting snow on the eastern plains has led to several highway closures. eastbound i-70 is closed from limon to the kansas state line. both directions of u.s. 36 are closed from byers to kansas. both directions of u.s. 40 are closed from kit carson to kansas and these are just a few closures out east. the storm system that brought all this snow to colorado is spreading the wealth to the east. a winter storm warning is in effect until tomorrow morning for most of iowa. sections of northern iowa are

this storm arrived hours after the des moines international airport canceled or delayed several flights this morning. as kathy said, the official snow total at dia was 11.3 inches since monday. the airlines here have reported 136 flight cancellations today, far fewer than yesterday. the airport has returned to normal operations, although snow crews continue to clean the runways, tar mcand taxiways -- tarmac and attacks ways. denver public works deployed its residential snow plows today on all residential streets across the city. as 9news reporter maya rodriguez tells us that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to be seeing bare pavement out there. >> reporter: denver public works says it, too, is digging out from the winter storm deploying 80 plow today on city streets. >> our big plows are hitting those main streets and our small plows go in the residential areas. >> reporter: public works

in each one they say a plow tackles between 60 and 70 miles of city streets, more than 1,000-miles in all, but they say don't expect to see bare pavement, even if a plow went down a residential street. >> we don't bring the streets to bare pavement, but we shave off the top few inches of snow to make the streets more drivable and passable. >> reporter: why don't plows take all the snow off the street? because public work says their lighter plows aren't designed to do that. >> what we have is the equipment we have to work with. if we don't come out, you get deep rutting. it gets thick and icy, hard to navigate. >> reporter: some cities like aurora don't deploy residential plows except under extreme winter conditions. in denver public works says even though some spots did not reach the minimum requirement of 12 inches of snow, they deployed the residential plows anyway. >> today we're seeing 8 to 10 inches, maybe didn't reach the 12 mark, but we also have a lot

to put them out. >> reporter: maya rodriguez, 9news. >> public works is saying it residential plows. they say this time the city saved a lot of money because all of the work was done within weekday. contrary to popular belief the u.s. postal service has no official motto. it's commonly believed that it goes something like neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night saves these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. bottom line, you need to shovel your sidewalk. area postal workers are asking residents to make a path to their mailboxes. mike fallon said trudging through snow this deep is fatiguing and can be dangerous. postal workers suffer knee injuries, twisted ankles, even a case of acl.

better, at least for the mailman anyway. you wake up thinking all right, here we go again. you kind of get used to it and deal with it as it comes along. snowfall prison said snowy sidewalks -- fallon said snowy sidewalks can add an extra hour to his route. ted cruz was the victor on the republican side of the caucuses. clinton's victory in iowa is called the closest in iowa caucus history and historically high turnout among republican voters in iowa appears to have helped ted cruz and marco rubio more than expected. the presidential contenders now turn their airplanes and hopes to their next arena in the fight for their party's nominations in new hampshire in their primary a week from today. the forecast for the super bowl sunday both here and in northern california. >> also ahead the road to super bowl l for broncos mascot thunder, it's been a rough one. >> at least he's covered up

>> who is making a name for himself for attacking people

well, if the panthers weren't scared already about playing the broncos, they should be now that thunder has arrived because thunder has arrived on the scene. the bronco mascot left monday making it to california today. 9news reporter matt renoux is in california now. we know he has been a big part of the super bowl. >> reporter: they have, the

away and then thunder 2 and thunder 3 and it's a legacy that's been kept going and funded by one family who before they started making their trip to california give us a behind the scenes look at the thunder stables and what it takes to bring some thunder to the super bowl. at his cherry hill home near denver -- >> it's a big horse community here, yeah. >> reporter: -- thunder is getting plenty to eat before he and owner sharon magness. >> it is a big project. >> reporter: -- start a busy week. >> now we're going to san francisco the. >> reporter: representing the denver broncos at the super bowl in california. >> we have five of us going for super bowl. >> reporter: because this is the thunder. the den broncos mascot and the horse you see running -- denver broncos mascot and the horse you see running down the field at games is so famous he's on the cover of modern arabian horse magazine and around denver -- >> the horse is on the field every home game.

have plenty of thunder, two, in fact, thunder 2 will stay behind shall the broncos win and need a parade while this guy, the identical thunder 3, is taken on a two-day road trip to san francisco for the super bowl. it's a bronco legacy sharon has led over 23 years ponying up all the cash for home game appearances and four super bowls which two years ago meant spending $20,000. >> the weather was so bad across the country we could not drive him. >> reporter: to pack thunder up and send him fedex to new york. >> we fed ex-ed him as we call it. we put him on a fedex airplane. he was the last package on. he did a layover in mem and landed in newark. -- memphis and landed in newark. he did just great. >> reporter: but this time around sharon and her team will make the thunder roll for another trip to the super bowl. >> we just feel it's a

we love it. >> reporter: that two day road trip stretched out a little bit longer. thunder was supposed to have arrived today, but all the snow that utah, colorado and wyoming have been getting has delayed the thunder team. they've been waiting for i-80 to open. they just left nevada. so hopefully they'll be here in san francisco in santa clara pretty soon. until then the closest thing i've seen to thunder are the horses on that carousel back there at the children's creativity museum. have to make it work. >> love the horse and sharon magness. we hope he's tearing up the turf before the national anthem is over because that means it's 14-0 before anybody knows it. thanks, matt. beware of owl would be an appropriate message for a neighborhood sign near tampa, florida. a mother owl has been swooping towards anyone the owl perceives as a threat to her owlets in the nest. no one is safe and apparently no place is safe either.

and come up against me like bump into me and i kind of just started wailing like that. >> you could hear the wings. i could hear the animal in the garage and rob was swatting away, so i knew something was going on. >> it's called a barred owl. it's protected, so neighbors can't do a lot but keep an eye out for a very angry or protective owl and limit outdoor nighttime jaunts because that's when she really kind of comes out after you. >> looks like she could do some damage if you're not quick. it looks like we'll have to wait several days for any significant thaw in denver. >> how cold it will be and how long next in kathy's forecast. >> coming up tonight we're covering the mad dash to new hampshire after iowa voters rearrange the race for president, tonight how the candidates are now trying to capitalize on the results. >> there's alarming news about zika, how it's spread and who else may now be at risk. >> and from blizzards to

hello, welcome back. meteorologist kathy sabine outside in a very quiet 9news backyard. skies are starting to clear. the win ha let up and we got a -- wind has let up and question got a whole lot of snow outside. the drive home is much improved

with temperatures in the 20s but snow and ice not going anywhere quick. average high this time of year 44. we won't get above freezing tomorrow, but there was some warmer air coming in later in the week. so at some point the snow and ice will melt. wind chill at dia right now 10 and in the 9news backyard with fair skies and light winds we're still under 20 degrees here in the downtown area. snow bands starting to push east around the backside of that low and really impressive considering february is not typically one of our snowier months. the average is about 8 inches for the month. we've seen almost a foot and it's only february 2nd and the other piece of information i wanted to share with you is we're headed into march and april and those are our two snowiest months. here we go, kind of getting used to this by now. low pressure area beginning to lift from the north and east, the downsloping flow cutting off the moisture finally, wind continuing to the north of us, blizzard warning east of north platte and this storm system

the country with the threat of severe weather increasing around memphis and jackson and we have all that wintery weather headed for the midwest. the threat of tornadoes, heavy flooding rain and large hail will impact travel across the southeast as well. the whole system is on the move, drier northwest flow behind it, but upstream a little moisture and ripple in the atmosphere. there may be a few flurries yet to go this week. high pressure will bring us more sunshine, not a warm day, below freezing. the mildest air is off to the south. northwest flow, we'll watch that snow in tonight from north to south but still compromising travel on the i-70 corridor and urban corridor late tomorrow and tomorrow. there will be lingering cloud cover keeping up the overnight minimums going already between 0 and 10 above in the lower elevations and below 0 in the high country and with any wind it will feel colder than that with the fahrenheit temperatures not really indicating how cold it will actually be.

temperatures tomorrow, but we'll have lots of sunshine to help out the situation. 18 in idaho springs and anywhere up around conifer, evergreen and bailey with all the snow cover you're hard pressed to hit the 20s. clearing, 6 degrees tonight, light winds, chilly night and chilly start, low to mid-20s with more sunshine than cloud cover without a lot of wind. it won't be awful. we just won't see melting the next couple days. temperatures manage the 30s but probably not till the end of the week. we spike up to 50 saturday ahead of a weak storm that may bring flurries sunday night, snow showers and colder weather monday and then temperatures rebound and we'll see a lot of this snow and ice melt. no snow and ice in santa clara, california, sunday. the super bowl temperature 71 degrees with partly cloudy skies, all eyes on california and all eyes on our local broncos fans who got a snow day today. a lot of kids and a lot of pets enjoying the snow.

drew is in ne once again energy companies led stocks on a down hill slide as prices for crude oil and

from colorado sports leader here's drew soicher. >> hi, everybody. if the broncos beat the carolina panthers, they'll own two of the top 10 biggest upsets in super bowl history. the spread continues to grow. broncos are six-point underdogs for super bowl l, not quite 11 like when denver shocked green bay or 20 like when joe namath guaranteed a victory over the colts, but it will be a big surprise to many. >> if i have to mention to my team about every article written each and every day, i don't think i have to go there. they're smart players, been at it a long time.

before throughout the course of the season. we have great respect for their football team and what they're capable of doing and how they got here, but we also have a lot of confidence in our football team, too. we'll stay focused on ourselves, stay in the moment and continue to get ready to play. we're looking forward to it. >> staying in routine the broncos took tuesday off like always and we're live with 9news reporter rod mackey in santa clara tonight. hi, rod. >> reporter: drew, thanks. the broncos are all in on their panther preparations, but there has been time for some noncarolina questions like playing both ways. it happens in high school, rarely happens in college and almost never happens in the nfl, but there are a few broncos who believe they could do it. >> i'd say emanuel, man, great athlete, and by the way, he takes those hits over the middle. i'm assuming that he had a chance to give some hits, he'd

>> touchdown denver, emmanuel sanders. >> you're looking at it right now. line me up at corner back. line me up at quarterback. line me up at running back. i could even play a little linebacker, d line. >> emmanuel know, he's on the other end of probably 75 of my passes in practice. i told you i throw 100 passes every day. i throw them to bt and emmanuel. if anybody would know about my offensive skill or ability, it would be those guys. i appreciate it. >> reporter: so if this is peyton's last rodeo, you're going to take his job, then? >> no, no, no. >> no. i've never played offense. i can't catch a ball for the life of me and i'm not blocking all day. so no. >> pressure, throws on the run, makes the interception. 40, 35, here we go, talib, 20,

>> oh, definitely, definitely. i play receiver. i play star receiver and we'd be a nice little tandem. >> now peyton is a player who is perfect playing just one position, though he was willing to play backup quarterback, if necessary. >> i was, you know, insulted when it was suggested that i would refuse to do that. i never had the opportunity, but never once -- i don't know there was a lot of guys that go out and say hey, i do want to be a backup. i think most guys want to go out there and be the starter. that's the mentality of any competitive quarterback, but so to be able to be available was significant for me. >> that was part of mike klis' one on one conversation with peyton manning. we will have much more coming up on our broncos tonight special, special edition at 7:00 for one hour.

pop quiz. time for tonight's drew or false question. drew or false on, this second anniversary of super bowl xlviii there has still been another nfl game that ended with a final score of 43-8. drew or false, of the 15,444 regular and postseason games played since 1920, only the broncos loss to seattle february 2nd, 2014 ended 43-8. the correct answer is drew. both 43-8 are extremely unusual scores of one included a two- point conversion, the other a safety and those two numbers bowe coming up in the same game has only happened that one time. >> did you have to remind us, did you? >> the first play from scrimmage for the broncos will be very interesting to me. i bet you peyton manning goes

snap cleanly and hands it off shotgun formation. once they get that first play out of the way so it doesn't zip over. >> exactly. >> run it to the end zone. >> go broncos. >> abc nightly news is next. we'll see you back here at 6:00.