TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- A highway patrol dispatcher says southwestern Kansas is "pretty much shut down completely." The region has been hard-hit by the snowstorm that has closed highways in parts of at least five states.

Travelers are scrambling to rearrange their plans, mid trip. A motel in Hays booked three dozen rooms in 20 minutes last night, as drivers got off Interstate 70 earlier than planned.

One Wyoming family gave up after their SUV nearly slid into a ditch. Greg Boughton says, "It wasn't worth risking it." They decided to head east, instead of west, toward family in Oklahoma.

The storm moved into the region yesterday, turning roads to ice and reducing visibility to zero. Several highways in New Mexico are still closed, even as the storm moves to the east, into the Great Plains.

Officials in the Texas Panhandle are warning travelers to stay off the roads so crews working to remove snow and ice will have a clear path. Blizzard conditions last night closed part of Interstate 40, a major east-west route.