Snowstorms blanket portions of Colorado, Utah and Nevada

DURANGO, Colo. -- A band of winter storms that brought more than a foot of snow to southwest Colorado briefly closed some mountain passes for avalanche control work Sunday and prompted travel warnings for parts of Nevada and southern Utah.

Avalanche control work briefly shut down U.S. 160 over Wolf Creek Pass in Colorado during the morning, and Colorado 65 at Grand Mesa was closed by an avalanche. There was no report of anyone trapped.

An avalanche early Saturday also closed the heavily traveled Interstate 70 over Vail Pass for several hours. No injuries were reported, though at least one vehicle skidded into the pile of snow after the slide.

The National Weather Service said a spotter in Silverton reported about 17 inches of snow from the weekend storm .

In southern Utah, the weather service issued a special warning for the Zion National Park region, which was expected to get several inches of snow Sunday at low elevations, making for slippery driving.

The storm was also expected to pass through Nevada, where that state's Department of Transportation said chains or snow tires were required on many highways. More than 2 feet of fresh snow blanketed the Lake Tahoe region by sunrise, and around Carson City, mountains were likely to get a foot of snow.

In northern Utah, conditions were good for skiers on a holiday week. A week of small but successive storms brought Utah resorts closer to their 500-inch average for seasonal totals. Some resorts started out the winter with low expectations.