Rockies Get 17 Inches of Snow; Storm Aims at Plains

A storm dumped up to 17 inches of snow over the Rocky Mountains on Friday, and the wintry weather headed for the Great Plains.

Austin, Nev., was hit with 12 inches of snow during the night, and Bob Scott Summit received a 17-inch cover, the National Weather Service reported.

Strong winds combined with the snow to reduce visibility over the state and left 2-foot snow drifts near Austin, weather officials said.

Winds whipped across the Southwest, and snow came to the Great Lakes states and Mississippi Valley early Friday.

Light snow fell over the northern Plains and western Nebraska.

Utah snowfall ranged from an inch or two in the valleys to more than a foot at some ski resorts, National Weather Service forecaster Brian Smith said.

The Alta and Sundance resorts received 14 inches of new snow, and Snowbird, Utah, got a foot of snow. Coalville and Park City each got 6 inches of new snow, Smith said.

Winter storm watches were posted for the Panhandle of Oklahoma, northern portions of the Texas Panhandle and southwest Kansas.

The weather service said winter storm watches would be in effect today over northern parts of the Texas Panhandle, northwest Oklahoma and western and north-central Kansas.

A heavy snow warning remained in effect for the southern mountains of Colorado, with a snow advisory for the central and northern mountains of that state. A foot or more of snow was expected in higher elevations of the southern mountains with lesser amounts in valleys.

The storm spared Wyoming, which received only about 2 inches, instead of the up to 14 inches that had been forecast.