Utah snow leads to nearly 300 crashes

The Latest on a Utah snowstorm:

4:15 p.m.

Authorities say a winter storm has caused nearly 300 crashes, including a handful involving troopers.

The Utah Highway Patrol says no serious injuries were reported on the roads left treacherous by the storm that blanketed many parts of the state in a thick layer of snow.

The National Weather Service said chilly overnight temperatures and continuing snow could mean the roads remain dangerous as many head back to work Tuesday morning after the President’s Day holiday.

The storm that started late Sunday piled up snow totals ranging from more than 20 inches (50 centimeters) in Sandy to a few inches downtown 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).

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9:50 a.m.

A winter storm that’s already dropped more than a foot of snow on some parts of Utah and snarled roads is expected to continue through the day.

The National Weather Service says the snow that started overnight had blanketed the mountains by Monday morning and left nine inches or more in lower-elevation cities south of Salt Lake, like Sandy and Orem. The valley in northern Utah’s Logan area saw up to a foot, and meteorologist Monica Traphagan says central and even southern Utah are also getting hit.

Traphagan says chilly overnight temperatures could extend the snarled morning commute in Tuesday as people return to work from the President’s Day weekend.

Though the new accumulation will help a below-average snowpack, she says Utah will need more to get up to normal.