A slow-moving weather system dumped feet of snow on the Rockies in mid-April 2015

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Salt Lake City went from April 14 to picking up 5.8 inches of snow on April 15. Just over 700 feet higher than the airport, 10 inches of snow was measured at the University of Utah just before midday April 15. In the adjacent Wasatch Mountains, a storm total of 45 inches was reported at Snowbird.

Snow fell at the rate of one inch per hour in Billings, Montana early April 15. Billings picked up 5.9 inches of snow, their first measurable snow in three weeks.

of The Weather Channel in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on April 15. Laramie, Wyoming, picked up 5-7 inches of snow (at an elevation of 7,165 feet), while Casper's Natrona County Airport measured 3.1 inches. The top snowfall total in Wyoming was an estimated 18 inches from an automated sensor southwest of Cody, Wyoming.

To give you a flavor of how elevation-dependent snowfall accumulations are in this spring system, watch how accumulations diminish in showing a drive from about 7,000 feet in the Shoshoni National Forest to just north of Lander at an elevation of 5,100 feet.

A (almost 150 miles) was closed April 16-17 in both directions due to major accidents, involving at least 45 vehicles, that occurred during snowy and windy conditions, which reduced visibility. Interstate 80 actually reaches its highest point in this area at Sherman Summit (8,640 feet). Southeast of Laramie 26.6 inches of snow was reported as of Friday evening.

Snow covered the ground in parts of the Denver metro area April 16, but then changed to or mixed with rain by early afternoon. Denver International Airport reported 4.1 inches of snow from the storm.

Also in Colorado in Larimer county, north of Boulder, up to 52 inches of snow was reported at Sand Creek Park.

While it may seem rather late for a snowstorm, keep in mind that snow can fall well into the spring in these areas.

brought snow to Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico during the second week of May.

According to Alaska meteorologist Brian Brettschneider, April is the snowiest month, on average, in several locations in the Rockies and High Plains.

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iWitness Guzva84 captured this photo of mailboxes encased in snow in Spearfish, SD.