Winter Storm Echo State-by-State: 3 Dead; Ground Blizzard Hits Wyoming

Winter Storm Echo is no longer dumping snow on the West and High Plains, but it's not done causing problems.

Bitter cold and gusty winds followed the storm in areas like Wyoming, and on Friday, blowing snow created very dangerous conditions on the state's roadways. Due to the ground blizzard conditions, much of Interstate 80 remained closed on Friday, along with parts of I-25, the state Department of Transportation said.

Icy road conditions were blamed for a fatal accident Wednesday night in Minnesota after the driver lost control of their car and struck a tree.

(MORE: Winter Storm Echo Brings Widespread Western Snow)

The storm system's dangers were not limited to snow. Heavy rainfall caused a car to hydroplane and crash off an embankment in the San Francisco Bay Area, killing two people Sunday.

Here are the latest impacts from Winter Storm Echo, filtered by state.

Arizona

Top snowfall total: 12 inches, Jacob Lake

After a day of intense snowfall canceled many schools around the Flagstaff area, the city delayed classes by two hours Tuesday morning as road conditions remain troublesome, ABC 15 Arizona reported.

Echo's snowfall had major effects on travel. Along Interstate 17 north of Camp Verde, traffic was completely halted Monday due to poor road conditions, the Arizona Republic reported.

California

Top snowfall total: 24 inches, Sugar Bowl Resort summit

Two parents were killed and their young children were injured Sunday after their vehicle hydroplaned and rolled down an embankment in Alameda County, according to the AP.

According to Fire Battalion chief Stephanie Radecke, the couple's 5-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter survived the crash. The boy suffered head trauma. 

(MORE: A Normal December? Certainly Not)

Gusty winds, as high as 80 mph, were also reported at the higher elevations Sunday night as the storm raged.

Colorado

Top snowfall total: 29 inches, Wolf Creek Pass

The driver of a snow plow was uninjured after the machine slipped off a highway in the Colorado foothills and landed upside down in a creek Tuesday morning, the AP reported. The accident occurred around 4:30 a.m. in Boulder Canyon.

Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Amy Ford said nothing spilled from the truck into the creek. 

While Echo brought a foot of snow or more to the ski resorts, the storm also created travel problems in eastern Colorado, including Denver, on Tuesday.

More than 350 flights were canceled at Denver International Airport on Tuesday, FlightAware reported. The airport reported more than 6 inches of snow on the ground, according to the NWS.

(PHOTOS: Images of Winter Storm Echo)

Many roadways remained snow-covered on Wednesday, and additional travel problems were reported after the storm had passed.

After a day off, Denver Public Schools reopened Wednesday, the district announced. Several Colorado Springs school districts will either be closed or delayed on Wednesday; the Colorado Springs Gazette has a complete list.

Idaho

Top snowfall total: 26.3 inches, Atlanta summit

Huge snowfall totals – as much as 26 inches, through Monday morning – were reported in Idaho's higher elevations as a result of Winter Storm Echo.

According to Idaho State Police Lt. Fritz Zweigart, there were 33 slide-offs, 16 motor assists and 22 crashes reported late Monday afternoon, Local News 8 reported. Multiple people had to be taken to the hospital for minor injuries. 

A skier was badly injured Monday after he was caught in an avalanche on the Bald Mountains, according to the Sawtooth Avalanche Center. The 3-foot deep avalanche was approximately 120 feet wide and traveled nearly 1,300 vertical feet.

(MORE: See If You'll Have a White Christmas)

The victim had ventured into an area known as "Badly out of bounds," due to the fact that it is outside the Sun Valley ski resort boundaries. He was well below the top of the avalanche and only carried about 450 feet before being buried two feet deep in snow. He struck a tree and sustained serious chest and internal injuries. He was found and rescued by his skiing partner.

The avalanche was likely triggered by the skier or somebody else skiing above them. 

Schools in Idaho City were canceled Monday due to the storm, according to the Idaho Statesman.

The snow allowed some ski resorts to open full-time for the first time this season, according to a separate Idaho Statesman report.

Minnesota

Top snowfall total: 13 inches, Isabella

The Minnesota State Patrol reported a fatal accident near Princeton when a car veered off the road and into a tree. The patrol recorded the road conditions as "icy."

The driver was a 23-year-old woman from Zimmerman, but her name has not been released, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported. She was traveling southbound on Highway 169 Wednesday night in a 1998 Chevrolet Lumina, the crash report said.

Some parts of Minnesota received more than a half-foot of snow from Echo on Wednesday, and snow-covered roads caused travel problems. According to KSTP.com, multiple spinouts were reported Wednesday morning in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

Dubbed the "Metro thunder-slop storm" by Minnesota Public Radio, Echo's snow was only parts of the storm in the Twin Cities area, though the wintry side was welcomed by residents.

"It actually snowed in the Twin Cities in the wee hours this morning," said MPR's Paul Huttner, echoing the thoughts of many snow-starved residents in the region.

Montana

Top snowfall total: 31.1 inches, Jefferson City

Echo dumped nearly two feet of snow on parts of western Montana, and the wintry weather led to at least 90 accidents statewide on Monday alone, according to the Great Falls Tribune.

After a rare snow day, Billings schools reopened on Wednesday. Some bus routes may be delayed due to icy conditions, Superintendent Terry Bouck told KTVQ.com.

Blowing and drifting snow led to many crashes, including a woman who flipped her pickup truck on Interstate 15, about 10 miles south of Great Falls, the Great Falls Tribune also reported. She suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a local hospital, Capt. Chad Dever said.

“People are crashing,” Dever told the Tribune. “A lot of people aren’t slowing down.”

Nebraska

Top snowfall total: 12 inches, Chadron and five other locations

Echo's snowfall had mostly departed Nebraska by Wednesday morning, but roads remained treacherous across parts of the state. Many roadways in northern and western Nebraska remained completely snow-covered on Wednesday morning, and officials urged caution.

A snow emergency was declared for the town of Sidney, and the local police department urged all residents to refrain from driving until Echo passed.

North Dakota

Top snowfall total: 13 inches, Michigan City

Electric cooperatives were still trying to restore power to homes and businesses Thursday, AP reports. Verendrye Electric Cooperative, which lost about 64 power poles in the storm, said about 80 of their customers remained without power Thursday afternoon. 

Outages in North Dakota numbered more than 4,000 at one point during the storm. 

"The frost puts weight on the wires of the power lines, causing them to sag onto other wires," Don Franklund, co-manager and CEO of Mor-Gran-Sou Electric, told the Bismarck Tribune.

Nearly all of the roads in eastern and central North Dakota were snow-covered on Wednesday, according to the state's Department of Transportation.

Oregon

Top snowfall total: 20 inches, Mount Bachelor Ski Area

Snow, mudslides and downed trees have kept several roads closed days after the storm passed, according to the Oregonian. Officials said Oregon 138E, 230 and 62 are still closed, and crews don't know when they'll be able to reopen those state roads, the report added.

South Dakota

Top snowfall total: Up to 18 inches, Lead

Echo has moved on, but travel problems are expected to continue for days. 

The Department of Transportation continued to advise no travel Thursday in western parts of the state as the strong winds and slick conditions will make driving very dangerous.

"Eastbound I-90 travelers are asked to stay in Rapid City where there are sufficient accommodations. Westbound travelers are asked to stay in Sioux Falls or Mitchell due to limited accommodations in Chamberlain," DOT officials told the Capital Journal.

The South Dakota Office of Emergency Management reported the closure of Interstate 90 from Rapid City to Chamberlain – a stretch of freeway more than 200 miles long. Late Wednesday morning, the DOT said the roadway was completely reopened.

According to AP, at one point about 80 outages were reported on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Tribal officials reported only "spotty" outages Thursday morning and hoped to have everyone back online by the end of the day, said Richard Smith, a regional director for the American Red Cross.

Utah

Top snowfall total: 31 inches, Snowbird

Echo dumped more than two feet of snow in the Beehive State as the storm brought plenty of fresh powder for the ski resorts. But Echo also created hazardous road conditions, and officials warned drivers to stay off the roads if possible.

Monday night into Tuesday morning, troopers responded to 217 crashes on I-15, I-215 and in the canyons of Utah, Salt Lake and Davis counties, reports KSL. Tuesday morning saw more crashes than the previous day, but there were fewer widespread delays.

(MORE: Colder Air to Arrive Soon in These Areas)

More than 10,000 Utah homes and businesses were without power Monday morning, according to Rocky Mountain Power. Most of those outages were restored by the end of the day.

Despite the travel difficulties expected from Echo, the snow will be welcomed by a state that's been locked in a drought for more than a year.

"As such, we're still behind pretty significantly," Brian McInerney, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City, told the Salt Lake Tribune. "But we can make up ground pretty fast with a really great storm cycle. This was a great start. This is what we needed."

Wyoming

Top snowfall total: 32 inches, Casper Mountain

Interstate 80 remained closed across much of the state on Friday. Officials warned the strong winds, as high as 75 mph, in some areas, could blow over tractor-trailers and other vehicles. For the latest on these closures, check the Wyoming DOT's travel information page.

Many schools, including the University of Wyoming at Casper and Casper College, were closed Tuesday, the Billings Gazette reported. Many schools and businesses reopened Wednesday, but officials asked residents to stay home, if possible, and avoid from pushing snow into the streets.

The Cheyenne Regional Medical Center (CMRC) emergency department is reminding people to exercise caution, as they've treated dozens of people for weather-related injuries over the past two days, according to KGWN. 

"We've treated more than 40 people for injuries suffered after having fender-benders and another 30 patients who have slipped and fallen on slippery surfaces," said Dr. Jessica Kisicki, medical director of CMRC's emergency department.