A powerful snowstorm that dumped tons of snow on the Sierra Nevada Mountains will continue to batter the region through Sunday, bringing even more snow as a second “weak” system is expected to bring more snow on Monday. The wind will cause damage.
National parks, ski resorts and portions of California’s major interstate highways were closed due to multiple days of storms that caused dangerous whiteout conditions with strong wind gusts.
National Weather Service meteorologist William Churchill said up to 10 feet of snow is expected to accumulate in higher elevations, creating “life-threatening concerns” for Lake Tahoe residents.
Prime Minister Churchill told The Associated Press that 5 to 12 feet of snow is expected to fall in the region by Sunday evening, with higher elevations at risk of more snow and lower elevations likely to be flooded by heavy rain. He said it was expensive.
Even in areas with less snow, there are still wind gusts exceeding 50 mph, affecting millions of people from California to Colorado.
The brunt of the storm is expected to pass by Sunday evening, but a second “weaker” system is expected to pass through the region Monday into Wednesday. the National Weather Service in Sacramento warned.
“An additional 1 to 2 feet of snow is currently expected to fall, potentially hampering recovery efforts from the mountain snowstorm,” the NWS said.
Nine Western states are under winter warnings as the NWS predicted “extremely heavy snowfall” of 2 to 6 inches per hour. Snowfall totals could reach up to 12 feet by Wednesday following a second storm expected early in the work week.
As of Saturday afternoon, approximately 42 inches of snow had been recorded in Soda Springs, California, and 45 inches was observed in Truckee, California.
The Sierra Snow Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, recorded 39.8 inches of snow on Saturday and shared an update with X about the extremely dangerous storm that left the lab and nearby areas without power.
weather service It also warned of “high to extreme” avalanche danger in the Central Sierra and Lake Tahoe regions into Sunday afternoon.
Strong winds “with the potential to knock down trees and power lines” are also expected across the region, with gusts up to 125 mph, the NWS said.
California officials closed 160 miles of Interstate 80 on Friday due to a snowstorm that hit the Sierra Nevada mountains.
It’s unclear when the highway will reopen from the California-Nevada border west of Reno to California’s Emigrant Gap neighborhood.
By Sunday morning, Pacific Gas & Electric had restored power to all but about 7,000 customers in California, while NV Energy said only about 1,000 homes and businesses remained without power. .
Several ski resorts, including Palisades Tahoe, Sugar Bowl, Boreal and Sierra, were closed Friday and Saturday, hoping to get back on their feet and reopen Sunday.
“Drilling will continue for the foreseeable future,” officials at Palisades Tahoe, site of the 1960 Winter Olympics, said on the resort’s blog.
Yosemite National Park also closed Friday and was expected to remain closed until at least noon Sunday.
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