Kristen Nelson, Portland, Oregon, takes a photograph of ice-covered daffodils Saturday in a planter in downtown Lawrence. The city received some freezing rain Saturday but did not get a large accumulation of snow as did some Kansas communities. Nelson was visiting her friend KU graduate student Molly Fischer, also of Portland.

Tucker Schultz, 10, of Wichita, loses control of his sled Saturday as he plays on the hill at College Hill Park in Wichita.

Jarin Berger and Laura Keeler build a 9-foot snowman Saturday at their apartment complex on Sierra Parkway in Hutchinson.

After Lawrence residents and emergency officials spent the past few days stocking up on groceries and preparing snow removal trucks, all the preparation appeared to be for naught.

Saturday’s weather didn’t bring the 10 inches of snow that had been anticipated. In fact, no snow accumulated at all.

Higher than expected temperatures meant the storm was a mixture of heavy rain, freezing rain and sleet for most of the day. In the Lawrence area, little damage and few accidents were reported.

The rest of the state didn’t slide by so easily.

The Associated Press reported tens of thousands of Kansas utility customers without power and two deaths from the spring blizzard.

A 72-year-old Hutchinson man died of an apparent heart attack while shoveling snow. On Friday, a 58-year-old woman was killed in a car accident on icy roads in Marion County.

The National Weather Service said the heaviest snow had fallen in parts of southwest Kansas, including 28 inches in Pratt. Heavy winds accompanying the snow diminished visibility in many communities to almost zero and forced authorities to close several local and state highways.

Areas in central, eastern and southeastern Kansas reported a foot and a half or less of snow, but the major concern was freezing rain, making driving even more challenging.

In Douglas County, the roads stayed open and were ice free for most of the day. On Saturday afternoon, the Lawrence Police Department didn’t have any weather-related accidents to report.

Some area residents did lose power. On Saturday evening, Westar Energy reported 1,663 customers in the Lawrence area experienced power outages in the past 24 hours. All but 131 of those customers had the power restored.

Westar spokeswoman Erin La Row said customers could continue to lose power.

“Melting ultimately is good for us. But the melting itself can cause additional outages because branches spring back into place,” she said. “Hopefully, we will get everyone restored and we will soon be able to put this storm behind us.”

In the rest of the state, Westar reported 19,000 customers without power early Saturday. The number later dropped to 14,700. In addition, the Kansas Adjutant General’s Department said six rural electric cooperatives were reporting extensive power outages and were seeking help from other utilities.

Earlier Saturday, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius signed a declaration of disaster emergency for 62 counties, allowing state resources to help local officials.

Saturday’s storm also left behind ice-covered trees in Douglas County, but damage to this year’s fruit crop isn’t expected, said David Vertacnik, who has an apple orchard east of Lawrence.

He predicted the fruit crop would be safe as long as temperatures didn’t drop below 19 degrees Saturday night.

Warmer weather is predicted to be on the way this week. Today should bring sunshine and a high near 40. Temperatures are expected to be in the 50s for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

— Special project reporter Christine Metz can be reached at 832-6352.

— The Associated Press contributed to this story.