A winter storm packing excessive winds and doubtlessly a number of ft of snow blew into the Sierra Nevada on Saturday, triggering hundreds of energy outages in California, closing a mountain freeway at Lake Tahoe, and prompting an avalanche warning within the backcountry.
The storm is predicted to deliver as a lot as 1.2 meters of snow to the higher elevations round Lake Tahoe by Monday morning, the Nationwide Climate Service mentioned.
A 400-kilometer stretch of the Sierra from north of Reno to south of Yosemite Nationwide Park was beneath a winter storm warning a minimum of till Sunday.
“Journey will probably be very troublesome to unimaginable with whiteout situations,” the climate service mentioned in Reno, the place rain began falling Saturday.
A flood advisory was in impact from Sacramento to the California coast close to San Francisco.
The U.S. Forest Service issued an avalanche warning for the backcountry within the mountains west of Lake Tahoe the place it mentioned “a number of ft of recent snow and powerful winds will lead to harmful avalanche situations.”
A stretch of California Freeway 89 was closed due to heavy snow between Tahoe Metropolis and South Lake Tahoe, California, the freeway patrol mentioned. Interstate 80 between Reno and Sacramento remained open, however chains had been required on tires for many automobiles.
Greater than 30,000 prospects had been with out energy within the Sacramento space at one level Saturday morning. It had been restored to all however about 3,300 by noon. However forecasters warned winds gusting as much as 80 kph may deliver down tree branches and energy strains later within the day.
About 25 centimeters of snow already had fallen at Mammoth Mountain ski resort south of Yosemite the place greater than 3 meters of snow has been recorded since early November.
“It simply looks like each week or so, one other main storm rolls in,” resort spokeswoman Lauren Burke mentioned.
The storm warning stretches into Sunday for many of the Sierra and would not expire till Monday round Tahoe.
As a lot as 45 to 71 centimeters of snow was forecast by way of the weekend at lake stage, and as much as 1.2 meters at elevations above 2,133 meters with 80 kph winds and gusts as much as 160 kph.
On the Sierra’s japanese slope, a winter climate advisory runs from 10 p.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. for Reno, Sparks and Carson Metropolis, with snow accumulations of two.5-7.5 cm on valley flooring and as much as 20 cm above 1,524 meters.