A historic blizzard on pace to become the second-snowiest event recorded in Amarillo made travel nearly impossible Monday and left some motorists stranded as emergency crews struggle to reach them, the National Weather Service in Amarillo said.

Wind gusts have averaged between 50 and 60 mph, with hurricane-force gusts of 75 mph recorded at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport, the weather service said.

Conditions won’t improve until the storm passes, and the weather service has extended a blizzard warning until 3 a.m. Tuesday.

The weather service said a Feb. 25 record of 17 inches of snow has blanketed Amarillo, breaking the previous record of 10 inches recorded in 1903.

“There will be snow showers with blizzard-like conditions for multiple hours,” meteorologist Chris Morris said. “It doesn’t look like it will give up any time soon.”

The blizzard forced most businesses, school districts and government offices throughout the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles to close Monday. Major roads, including Interstate 40 east and west of Amarillo, were shut down, and all flights out of Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport were canceled. Airport manager Pat Rhodes expects the airport to remain closed until tomorrow morning due to limited visibility.

Northwest Texas Hospital remains open Monday and is operating at normal staff levels, but its J.O. Wyatt Clinic and Women’s and Children’s Center are closed Monday, said spokeswoman Caytie Martin. BSA Hospital is open, while its clinics, including Family Medical Clinic, Women’s Health Center, the Harrington Cancer Center, Harrington Breast Center, BSA Urgent Care Center, BSA Outpatient Therapy Services, Panhandle Ear, Nose and Throat and Amarillo Surgical Group, are closed for the day, said spokeswoman Mary Barlow.

Some motorists were left stranded in snow drifts that topped 10 feet and National Guard units are on their way to assist, the Texas Department of Public Safety said. Trooper Gabriel Medrano said troopers were unable to respond to all requests for assistance because of the whiteout conditions caused by blowing snow. Troopers are attempting to respond but roadways are impassable, Medrano said.

Medrano said there had been no fatal crashes mid-morning on Monday, although injuries were reported in a wreck on US Highway 86 in Bovina.

“Even four-wheel drive tow trucks are getting stuck in there,” he said. “...The situation is very hazardous.”

All roads out of Amarillo are closed, and the city is beginning to barricade I-40 on ramps starting at Osage St., authorities said.

Two units with the Amarillo Police Department are checking on motorists along I-40, said Sgt. Brent Barbee. Police said roadways and intersections have been blocked by stranded vehicles, which can’t be moved at this time, as wrecker responses are estimated at four to five hours. As of mid-day on Monday, Amarillo Emergency Communications Center reported 50 calls for stuck cars.

Steve Pair, executive director of the Red Cross, said shelters throughout the Panhandle can be opened at request if road closures force people to need a place to stay.

The Amarillo chapter opened a shelter at Calvary Baptist Church in Tulia at about 2:30 a.m., where about a dozen people are waiting out today’s blizzard conditions, Emergency Services Field Specialized Martha Riddlespurger said.

Another shelter has been operating since about 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church, 407 E. First St., in Groom, according to Cindy Nickell, area manager for the Texas Panhandle.

“We have some independent shelters popping up everywhere that we’re trying to also keep track of,” Nickell said. “You name it: They’re everywhere in the Panhandle.”

Riddlespurger and Nickell urged people to shelter in place, rather than risking venturing into the storm.

“If I could say anything to anybody at all that would listen, what we’ve got to be pushing to the public is: Wherever you’re at, stay there,” Nickell said.

“People don’t realize how bad the conditions are, and they think they’ve gotten through it (snow) before. This is a historic storm. Stay until it’s past.”

Riddlespurger also cautioned people to take care around heat sources.

“Be careful with what you decide to do to heat your house,” she said. “It’s very important, if you’ve got space heaters, don’t lay anything on top of them. Don’t lay anything on floor heaters.”

An area between Amarillo and the northeast Panhandle has received the lion’s share of the region’s snow, with Booker receiving 14 inches and Fritch receiving 13 inches, according to weather service numbers. Canyon, Vega and Pampa have received 8 inches, and White Deer has received 14 inches.

Snowfall is expected to decrease in the afternoon and to continue until at least 9 p.m., the weather service said.

The hardest-hit areas included Roberts and Gray counties, where every major road was closed, according to the Texas Department of Transportation’s online closures map, and Dumas, where major roads leading out of town were closed.

Lt. Terry Cox of the Gray County Sheriff’s Office discouraged travel in the county, especially along State Highway 152 and US Highway 60.

TxDOT’s Amarillo office issued a statement on Twitter on Monday stating because of the conditions it would be working in a “limited capacity” but maintenance crews would be out to clear roads.

The Texas Department of Public Safety closed all of its offices in the Texas Panhandle and strongly discouraged any travel via its website and social media channels.

All roads in rural Randall County are virtually impassable because of blowing and drifting snow, said Danny Alexander, spokesman for the Randall County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies are very busy assisting stranded motorists and snow plowing is being made more difficult because of vehicles that have become stuck and/or abandoned, he said.

Xcel Energy reported scattered outages, with about 4,000 impacted by the storm since 8 p.m. on Sunday.

Xcel spokesman Wes Reeves said the bulk of the outages are in the Clovis, N.M., area where six power poles are down and about 1,600 customers are without power. There was a smaller amount out in Vega where a car took out a pole Sunday night. About 1,000 customers are without power in Amarillo and 200 in the Estacado area, Reeves said.

Xcel’s restoration times are slow because repair crews are hampered by low visibility, Reeves said.