ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico's governor declared an emergency Thursday after a powerful winter storm left tens of thousands of people without power as heavy snow, fierce winds and freezing temperatures marched across the northern two-thirds of the state and into Colorado.

Thousands are are being impacted by power outages around Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe and Las Vegas, according to the Public Service Company of New Mexico. Nearly 53,000 were without power in the PNM service area on Thursday morning.

Emergency crews were rescuing drivers who got stuck on snow-covered roads as a potentially record-breaking storm moves across New Mexico.

New Mexico's governor has declared an emergency after a powerful winter storm has left tens of thousands of people without power

Several feet of snow were expected to fall in parts of New Mexico and Colorado over the next three days in what meteorologists said could be the worst blizzard to hit the region in decades, as the authorities warned of dangerous road conditions and power outages.

Tens of thousands of people in New Mexico were without power Thursday as the first major winter storm of the season rolled across the northern two-thirds of the state and into Colorado, bringing with it snow and fierce winds that forced schools and government offices to close.

A winter storm knocked out power to tens of thousands of New Mexicans, and some schools and government offices closed Thursday as more than 2 feet of snow fell in some parts of the state. Nearly 36,000 households were without electricity in the Santa Fe and Albuquerque areas,

A​ major winter storm is hammering parts of Colorado, including Denver, after dumping over a foot of snow in parts of northern New Mexico, snarling travel, knocking out power, even damaging some trees.