In Denver, rough riding for Santa

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The blizzard bearing down on Denver is expected to delay packages arriving for Christmas but won't have a major impact on shipping outside the immediate region, FedEx and UPS said Thursday.

"Everything is pretty much shut down there," said Jim McCluskey, a spokesman for FedEx. "People should expect delays. Right now it's looking pretty iffy" if packages will arrive by Christmas.

UPS Spokeswoman Elizabeth Rasberry said its drivers had been pulled off the road after the governor declared a state of emergency in the area, but expected delivery operations to resume Friday.

But like FedEx (Charts), Denver is not a major hub for UPS.

"We haven't seen a big impact in overall operations except in that area," said Rasberry.

McCluskey said the Denver airport isn't scheduled to open until Friday afternoon, and even then the first priority will be to get stranded passengers out.

Thousands of people are stuck at the Denver airport as a massive storm has dumped up to 2 feet of snow on the region.

In an effort to get out the packages, he said FedEx will be continue operations over the weekend and will have some limited services available on Christmas day.

Rasberry said UPS (Charts) will be delivering on Saturday, but not Sunday or Monday.

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