The Minnesota State Patrol offered further proof this morning that last week’s storm packed a powerful punch.

The State Patrol reported 126 vehicles went off the road from noon Thursday through 6 p.m. Saturday in Mower and Freeborn counties. There were also 15 crash with damage to vehicles during that time.

As of Saturday afternoon, state troopers had responded to nearly 1,000 crashes across the state, plus another 2,300 vehicles that spun out or ran off the road.

The storm dropped about 8 inches in Austin Thursday and early Friday, along with 10 inches in other parts of the county. Driving conditions remained difficult on Saturday as road crews were out in force, but the combination of snow and cold was impeding their efforts to clear roads and highways.

Conditions were so bad that Gov. Mark Dayton declared a state of emergency in some parts of the state. He called out the National Guard to help rescue stranded drivers. Nearly 300 people spent time in shelters set up in eight counties southwest of the Twin Cities.

Across the state, the State Patrol responded to more than 4,400 calls for service, including about 1,100 stalls and 74 jackknifed semi trucks.

Conditions were still far from perfect Monday morning, as The Minnesota Department of Transportation’s www.511mn.org site listed conditions on Highway 218, Highway 56 and Highway 105 in Mower County as difficult.

The Mower County Sheriff’s Office officials did not return calls for comment Monday morning.

—The Associated Press contributed to this report.