RENO, NV - Local police agencies are reporting several spinouts and crashes on city streets and highways throughout northern Nevada, but no major injuries have been reported.

The first major winter storm to hit the Sierra dumped up to a foot of snow in the mountains and made a mess of morning travel in the valleys around Reno,

The Nevada Highway Patrol was forced to close stretches of I-80
between Reno and Sparks off and on beginning about 9 a.m.
Wednesday. Trooper Chuck Allen said it was the only way to get snow plows through traffic jams to salt and sand the slippery highway littered by spinouts. He said, "It's a mess out there."

Ski resorts above Lake Tahoe reported a foot of new snow. About
8 inches fell at Truckee, Calif., 6 inches north of Sparks and up
to 4 in Reno. The combination of snow and rain gave way to sunshine
before noon.

Traffic on the Spaghetti Bowl is extremely congested and moving very slowly.

There are chain or snow tire requirements on all major roads coming into and leaving Reno.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.