The storm halted motorists on 150 miles of Interstate 5 and cut power to thousands.

Travelers were stopped between Redding and Ashland, Ore., on Interstate 5, a distance of about 150 miles, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday.

Many of the unlucky travelers were without food, water and warm clothing, authorities said. By late Monday traffic had begun moving again.

The storm, which originated in the Gulf of Alaska, slammed into northern California late Sunday night but was expected to burn out within 24 hours, making way for possible sunny skies Tuesday.

"It's a progressive storm that doesn't linger," said Wendy Stanton, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

Jared Castle, a spokesman for Oregon's Department of Transportation, said Monday that about 200 vehicles, many traveling between the San Francisco Bay area and Portland, Ore., were stranded on the snowy pass.