Severe weather gripped many parts of the United States during the first half of the weekend, with dangerous conditions including heavy snow in upstate New York, a major ice storm across Midwestern states, severe weather warnings around Lake Tahoe, and unusual tornado activity in central California. Ta.
An ice storm that began Friday night created hazardous driving conditions across Iowa and eastern Nebraska from Friday into Saturday.
The weather caused a temporary closure of Interstate 80 after numerous cars and trucks slid off the road.
In upstate New York, more than 33 inches of snow was reported near Orchard Park, which is prone to lake-effect snow.
On Saturday, around 1:40 p.m., a tornado touched down near a shopping mall in Scotts Valley, California, about 110 miles south of San Francisco.
The National Weather Service said the tornado overturned cars and downed trees and utility poles.
The Scotts Valley Police Department said several people were injured and taken to the hospital.
Several trees fell on cars and roads in San Francisco, damaging roofs.
The weather bureau said it was surveying the damage to determine if the city had actually been hit by a tornado, which had not occurred since 2005.
Roger Gass, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey, Calif., said this is the first time San Francisco has been warned of a possible tornado, and advance warnings were issued before the last tornado occurred nearly 20 years ago. pointed out that it was not done.
“I don't think there were any clear warning signs on the radar in 2005,” said Gass, who was not there at the time.
Residents were warned to evacuate due to the rapidly advancing storm, but few people in the area have basements.
“The biggest thing we're telling people in cities is to put up as many walls as possible between them and the outside world,” meteorologist Dalton Bellinger said.
More than a foot of snow fell at some Lake Tahoe ski resorts, and wind gusts of 112 mph were recorded at Mammoth Mountain Resort south of Yosemite National Park, the National Weather Service in Reno, Nevada said. Up to 3 feet of snow was expected to fall at the top of the Sierra Nevada.
The Tahoe Live music festival at California's Palisades Tahoe Ski Resort was scheduled to go ahead as scheduled on Saturday and Sunday, despite a winter storm warning in place for the area.
Lil Wayne was scheduled to perform Saturday night, and Diplo was scheduled to headline Sunday, according to the festival's website.
The winter storm warning was scheduled to expire at 10 p.m. Saturday, but an avalanche warning remained in place for areas above 8,000 feet around Tahoe until the following night.
An 80-mile stretch of Interstate 80 was closed Saturday from Applegate, Calif., to the Nevada line just west of Reno. In the afternoon, the California Highway Patrol reopened the area to chain- or four-wheel-drive vehicles and cars with snow tires.
At least one person has died due to severe weather in the Midwest. A 57-year-old woman died after losing control of her pickup truck and colliding with an oncoming truck on Highway 30 near Arlington, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said. The other driver suffered minor injuries.
Businesses announced plans to open later Saturday as temperatures rose enough to melt ice in most places by the afternoon.
“Fortunately, there's warm air coming in behind this and it's temporary,” said meteorologist Dave Cousins of the National Weather Service office in Davenport, Iowa.
Rain and strong winds left tens of thousands of people without power in western Washington state on Saturday, local news outlets reported.
