Nevada

Sierra Nevada buried by up to 11 feet of snow, and more is coming

Published

2 years ago

March 4, 2024

Sierra Nevada buried by up to 11 feet of snow, and more is coming

A crippling blizzard has dumped as much as 6 to 11 feet of snow on California’s Sierra Nevada since Thursday, closing roads and ski resorts as it produced white-out conditions and hurricane-force winds. The snow had eased across the region early Monday, but forecasters said more is to come through Tuesday afternoon, and winter storm warnings are in effect.

Through early Monday, several locations in the Sierras had reported at least 8 feet of snow, including 126 inches at Sugar Bowl, 116 inches at Soda Springs and 96 inches at Palisades Tahoe. More than 130 inches may have fallen along isolated ridgetops west of Lake Tahoe, according to an analysis from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The storm catapulted seasonal snow totals from below normal to above normal. The University of California at Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab, at Donner Pass, reported just over 6 feet of snow, bumping the season-to-date total from one of the 10-lowest on record to well above average. Snowfall at the Sugar Bowl, Boreal Mountain and Palisades Tahoe ski areas — now exceeding 300 inches — also climbed above average for the season.

Snowfall rates of 2 to 4 inches per hour and hurricane-force winds created dangerous travel conditions over the weekend, leading to road closures. The closure of a 71-mile stretch of Interstate 80 extended into its third day Monday before the highway reopened late in the morning. U.S. Route 50 also was closed for a time Sunday morning south of Lake Tahoe.

Yosemite National Park, which closed Thursday night ahead of the storm, partially reopened Sunday.

After a lull in the snow early Monday, another system was set to bring more snow, mainly from I-80 northward, Monday afternoon through Tuesday night. Drier air moving into Northern California was expected to limit snowfall compared with the weekend, but some areas could still see as much as another foot.

Blizzard warnings expired early Monday morning, but winter storm warnings remained in effect through early Wednesday for the mountains from Route 50 northward.

“Travel could be very difficult to impossible. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute,” said the National Weather Service in Sacramento, which gave a 40 to 80 percent chance of at least 6 inches of snow from I-80 to the north.

The Weather Service in Sacramento listed the following key forecast points:

6-12 inches of additional snowfall possible above 4,000 feet Monday afternoon through Tuesday from I-80 northward.
Locally higher amounts up to 2 feet possible at the highest peaks.
Periods of moderate mountain travel impacts expected through Tuesday night.

Gusts with this next system were not expected to reach 190 mph, as was recorded Friday night at the summit of the Palisades Tahoe ski resort, but 40-mph gusts were possible later Monday into Tuesday.

Forecasters said to expect drier and warmer conditions for the middle and latter part of the week.

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Nevada

Earthquake swarm rattles central Nevada near Tonopah along newly identified fault

Published

8 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Earthquake swarm rattles central Nevada near Tonopah along newly identified fault

A swarm of earthquakes has been rattling a remote stretch of central Nevada near Tonopah, including a magnitude 4.0 quake that hit near Warm Springs Tuesday morning.

Seismologists said the activity is typical for Nevada, where clusters of earthquakes can flare up in a concentrated area. “This is a very Nevada-style earthquake sequence. We have these a lot where we just see an uptick in activity in a certain spot,” said Christie Rowe, director of the Nevada Seismological Lab.

The latest magnitude 4.0 quake struck east of Tonopah near Warm Springs. The largest earthquake in the swarm so far has measured a 4.2.

What has stood out to researchers is the fault involved. Rowe said the earthquakes are occurring along a fault stretching along the southern edge of the Monitor and Antelope ranges — and that it was previously unknown to scientists. “We didn’t know this fault was there. It’s a new fault to us — not to the Earth, obviously — but it was previously unknown,” Rowe said.

For now, the earthquakes have remained moderate. Rowe said the lab would not deploy additional temporary sensors unless activity increases to around a magnitude 5 or greater.

Seismologists said they are continuing to watch the swarm closely as Nevada works to bring the ShakeAlert early warning system to the state. The program, already active in neighboring states, can send cellphone alerts seconds before shaking arrives. “For me, it’s a really high priority. That distance to the faults gives us enough time to warn people — and that can make a big difference in reducing injuries and damage,” Rowe said.

Seismologists encouraged anyone who feels shaking to report it through the U.S. Geological Survey’s “Did You Feel It” system, saying even small quakes can help scientists better understand Nevada’s seismic activity.

Experts said the swarm is worth monitoring but is not cause for alarm. They noted that earthquakes like the 5.8 that hit near Yerington in December 2024 typically happen in Nevada about every eight to 10 years, and said they will continue monitoring the current activity closely.

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Nevada

Kalshi Enforcement Action Belongs in Nevada Court, Judge Says

Published

21 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Kalshi Enforcement Action Belongs in Nevada Court, Judge Says

Nevada state court is the proper venue for reviewing whether KalshiEX LLC is improperly accepting sports wagers without a license, a federal district court said.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board showed that the state statutes under which it seeks relief don’t require interpreting federal law, Judge Miranda M. Du of the US District Court for the District of Nevada said in a Monday order. The board’s action is now remanded to the First Judicial District Court in Carson City, Nev., the order said.

The board in 2025 urged Kalshi, a financial services company, to get a gaming license, but the …

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Nevada

EDITORIAL: Nevada still vulnerable as tourist downturn continues

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

EDITORIAL: Nevada still vulnerable as tourist downturn continues

Strip gaming executives can put their best spin on the numbers, but local tourism indicators remain a major concern. Casino operators seeking to draw more people through the door still have much work to do.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board released January gaming numbers Friday. The news was underwhelming. The state gaming win was down 6.6 percent from a year earlier. The Strip took the largest hit, an 11 percent drop. But the gloomy returns were spread throughout Clark County: Downtown Las Vegas was off 5.2 percent, Laughlin suffered a 3.3 percent decline and the Boulder Strip dipped by 7 percent.

For the current fiscal year, gaming tax collections are up a paltry
2.1 percent, below budget projections.

The red flags include more than gaming numbers. Recently released figures for 2025 reveal that visitation to Las Vegas fell nearly 8 percent from 2024, which represented the lowest total since the pandemic in 2021. Traffic at Reid International Airport fell more than 10 percent in December and was down 6 percent for the year. Strip occupancy rates fell 3 percent in 2025.

To be fair, this is not just a Las Vegas problem. International travel to the United States was down
4.8 percent in January, Forbes reported, the ninth straight month of decline. Travel from Europe fell 5.2 percent, and passenger counts from Asia fell 7.5 percent. Canadian tourism cratered by 22 percent.

No doubt that President Donald Trump’s blustery rhetoric has played a role in the decline, but there’s more at work. International tourism has been largely flat since Barack Obama’s last few years in office. But domestic travel has held relatively steady although it is “starting to cool,” according to the U.S. Travel Association. Las Vegas hasn’t been helped by high-profile complaints last year about exorbitant Strip prices for parking, bottled water and other staples. Casino operators responded by offering discounts, particularly for locals, and they’ll need to continue those policies into 2026.

The tourism downturn has ramifications for the state budget, which relies primarily on sales and gaming tax revenues to support spending plans. “Nevada’s employment and economic challenges reflect deep structural factors that extend beyond cyclical economic fluctuations,” noted a recent report by economic analyst John Restrepo. “The state’s extreme concentration in tourism and gaming creates unique vulnerabilities.”

The irony is that state and local politicians have been talking for the past half century about “diversifying” the state economy. In recent years, that effort has primarily consisted of handing out millions in tax breaks and other incentives to attract businesses to the state. A dispassionate observer might ask whether that approach has brought an adequate return on investment.

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