Motorists in the US have captured dramatic footage of an avalanche crashing down a mountainside in Colorado, as heavy snow hits the region.

Colorado-based Brandon Ciullo took footage of the avalanche engulfing Ten Mile Canyon, as he drove on the I-70 interstate highway near Frisco, Colorado.

His Facebook video shows a plume of snow covering the highway heading towards nearby Copper Mountain.

Fox Denver reporter Jeremy Hubbard shared footage on Twitter of the avalanche taken by another motorist, which shows the snow plume overtaking cars and clouding vision of the highway.

But a spokesperson for Colorado Department of Transportation told Fox Denver not enough snow made it on to the road to affect drivers.

The spokesperson said it was a naturally occurring avalanche, not a controlled slide.

Although it appeared cars had been buried in snow, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center tweeted a video explaining the highway was unaffected.

“The avalanche itself only deposited small amounts of debris in a creek away from the highway,” a spokesman said.

“These types of avalanches with large powder clouds can occur during heavy snowfall events.”

Hubbard later reported that no people or cars were buried in the avalanche.

https://twitter.com/JeremyHubbard/status/1102369930312204288

The same interstate closed later in the day due to another avalanche near Copper Mountain.

Avalanche warnings had been issued in Colorado with 10 centimetres to 18cm of snow forecast for the Denver area and surrounding mountains to expect 60cm of snow.