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 whiteout conditions and hurricane-force winds. The snow eased across the region Monday into Tuesday, prompting the discontinuation of blizzard and winter storm warnings. But forecasters said a little more was still possible into Tuesday night as a minor storm system moved inland.

Through Tuesday, several locations in the Sierras had reported at least 8 feet of snow, including 127 inches at Sugar Bowl, 116 inches at Soda Springs and 98 inches at Palisades Tahoe. More than 130 inches may have fallen along isolated ridge tops 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, and the water contained in the state’s snowpack climbed just above normal levels Monday. The University of California at Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab, at Donner Pass, reported 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 rose above average for the season.

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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 Tuesday. Drier air moving into Northern California was expected to limit snowfall compared with the weekend.

“Additional snowfall accumulations of 2-8” will be possible above 4000 feet north of I-80,” wrote the Weather Service office in Sacramento, which said to expect “moderate mountain travel impacts.”

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The Weather Service listed the following key forecast points:

• There’s a 20 to 60 percent chance of at least 6 more inches of snow.
• The heaviest totals are expected above 4,000 feet across western Plumas County and above 3,500 feet in Shasta County, where winter weather advisories are in effect.

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 Tuesday.

Forecasters said to expect drier and warmer conditions for the middle and latter part of the week. Another snowstorm is possible early next week.

Jason Samenow contributed to this report.

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