A major winter storm brought high winds and several inches of snow to southwest Minnesota over the weekend. Area communities reported anywhere from 6 to 8 inches of snow falling, according to local storm reports on the National Weather Service’s website.

Minnesota state troopers said there were numerous crashes and vehicle accidents over the weekend, as the storm made travel difficult. On Sunday, the Minnesota Department of Transportation closed state highways in parts of Lyon, Lincoln, Murray, Pipestone, Redwood and Yellow Medicine Counties due to heavy snow, strong winds and limited visibiity.

The National Weather Service said an observer station just north of Marshall reported a total of 8 inches of snow fell in the weekend storm. Other reports from Lyon County weren’t quite as deep. A Monday morning snowfall report from south of Cottonwood said 7.7 inches fell, while 6.3 inches fell in the Balaton area.

A station near Belview in Redwood County also reported 8 inches of snow, the NWS said.

The storm didn’t set any new records for Marshall. According to the NWS, the highest snowfall on record for March 15 was 15 inches, which was recorded in 2002.

Storm reports on the NWS website also reported strong wind gusts over the weekend. A gust of 53 miles per hour was reported in Marshall on Sunday evening. Around the same time, a gust of 64 miles per hour was reported in Florence.

There were hundreds of vehicle crashes across Minnesota over the weekend, said Sgt. Troy Christianson of the Minnesota State Patrol. Statewide, a total of 400 property damage crashes, 37 injury crashes and one fatal crash were reported between Saturday and 11 a.m. Monday. Christianson said there were also 706 vehicles that went off the road, and 22 jackknifed semi trucks.

Out of those totals, 10 property damage accidents were reported in the State Patrol’s Marshall district. There were also 35 vehicles that went off the road.

On Monday morning, the Minnesota Department of Transportation reported that roads in southwest Minnesota were still icy and covered with blowing snow. Travel was not advised on highways in the area around Worthington, Windom, Jackson and Fairmont.

While wintry weather will hang around in the Marshall area early this week, the NWS forecasts that conditions will warm up rapidly. More snow was likely Tuesday afternoon, but by Wednesday high temperatures would be back up in the 40s. The daytime high temperature on Friday is forecast at 64 degrees, the NWS said.