Denver ? Denver’s worst blizzard in 90 years shut down the city for a second day and closed one of the nation’s busiest airports, stranding thousands of passengers and ripping the terminal’s tent-like roof. Even letter carriers stayed home.

The storm dumped up to 7 feet of wet, heavy snow in the mountains and paralyzed a large swath of Colorado and Wyoming that is home to more than 3.5 million people. It forced officials to close parts of Interstates 70, 80 and 25, and National Guard troops were sent to rescue stranded motorists.

The storm, which lumbered into Colorado with rain turning to snow Monday and Tuesday, was heading slowly east and expected to taper off later Wednesday. A blizzard warning remained in effect from the Colorado-Wyoming line to New Mexico.

The snow was blamed for at least one traffic death in Wyoming, where Interstates 25 and 80 remained closed, isolating Cheyenne and other communities. Interstate 70 was closed from the Rockies to Hays, Kan.

Gusts whipped snow into drifts that blocked streets and driveways, turning abandoned cars and trucks into marshmallowy mounds.

The Colorado National Guard sent 21 Humvees to rescue stranded motorists. In some cities, police ticketed drivers who didn’t have a good reason to be out.

Denver received 29.5 inches since Monday, the most since December 1913, when 45.7 inches fell, according to the National Weather Service.

Almost 1 1/2 feet of wet, heavy flakes fell Wednesday at Denver International Airport and drifted to 4 feet. About 3,700 travelers who spent the night sleeping on the floor, couches and cots were moved to a separate concourse as a precaution after the tear several hundred feet long was discovered in the Teflon-coated, Fiberglas roof of the main terminal.

“This is a record-breaking storm that now is a roof breaker,” said assistant airport manager Amy Bourgeron. Passengers were allowed into the terminal after the company that manufactured the material inspected the tear and determined it was safe.

Among the travelers stuck there was the University of Vermont men’s basketball team, headed to Salt Lake City for its first-ever NCAA tournament. They were slated to play Arizona today.

The 16 inches of snow that fell on the Cheyenne airport Tuesday broke a single-day record for that date; the previous record of 11.5 inches dated to 1979.

AP Photo Hundreds of stranded travelers wait for transportation to take them to area hotels to spend the night Tuesday after a snowstorm crossed the area. Most flights at Denver International Airport were canceled because of the storm. Some travelers waited more than two hours for a shuttle. Hundreds of stranded travelers wait for transportation to take them to area hotels to spend the night Tuesday after a snowstorm crossed the area. Most flights at Denver International Airport were canceled because of the storm. Some travelers waited more than two hours for a shuttle.