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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A winter snowstorm dumped a thick layer of snow in Utah that caused hundreds of car crashes and power outages Monday, punctuating an otherwise mild and dry winter.
The Utah Highway Patrol reported nearly 300 car crashes on slick roads, including five that involved troopers, during the President's Day holiday. No serious injuries were reported.
The National Weather Service said chilly overnight temperatures and continuing snow could mean the roads remain dangerous as many head back to work Tuesday.
The storm that started late Sunday piled up snow totals ranging from more than 20 inches (50 centimeters) in Sandy to a few inches in the Salt Lake City area by Monday afternoon. Northern Utah's Cache Valley saw more than a foot, and central Utah's Cedar City got 8 inches (20 centimeters).
Meanwhile, Rocky Mountain Power crews scrambled to restore power to thousands of people, and the Utah Avalanche Center said the danger of slides was high at upper elevations.
The extra snow accumulation should help an otherwise anemic snowpack, but the state will need several more storms before it gets close to a normal level, meteorologist Monica Traphagan said.
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