RENO – A powerful storm dumped up to 29 inches of snow and shut down the main artery from Nevada into northern California overnight.

Interstate 80 over Donner Summit was closed for more than four hours because of poor visibility and high winds, said Mark Dinger, a spokesman for the California Department of Transportation.

Westbound I-80 traffic was backed up for about five miles at Truckee, Calif., after the interstate reopened shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday.

"They're trying to get traffic cleared out," Dinger said. "We have about 205 people and 135 pieces of snow equipment working on the I-80 corridor."

South of Lake Tahoe, Highway 88 over Carson Pass was closed for nearly 21⁄2 hours Sunday after a small avalanche trapped two vehicles at about 8:30 a.m., Dinger said.

Crews freed the vehicles from the slide, and no injuries were reported.

A section of Highway 88 over the nearby Carson Spur remained closed Sunday afternoon because of avalanche-control activities, authorities said.

Chains were mandatory on all three major trans-Sierra highways near Lake Tahoe, including I-80, Highway 88 and U.S. Highway 50 over Echo Summit.

Searchers rescued a missing snowboarder on Saturday night near Truckee, Placer County Sheriff Edward Bonner said.

Thomas Groh, 17, of Novato, Calif., was reported missing late Saturday afternoon by friends after he was last seen on a run at the Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort.

He was found in good condition outside the resort at about 10:30 p.m. after contacting rescuers with his cell phone and giving a general idea of his whereabouts, Bonner said.

"(Searchers) found tracks in the snow, ultimately finding Groh," the sheriff said.

The Mt. Rose ski resort above Reno reported up to 29 inches of snow over a 24-hour period ending Sunday morning, while the Kirkwood resort south of Lake Tahoe reported up to 28 inches of snow over a similar period.

The Boreal ski area atop Donner Summit reported 11⁄2 feet of snow over the last 24 hours for a storm total of up to 34.5 inches of snow.

The storm also dumped heavy snow along the eastern Sierra, including up to 12 inches in Carson City and 9 inches in Reno.