The Sierra I-80 Avalanche and Flash Flood warnings triggered by Super-Surface Asymmetries on Saturday
The storm already made for icy and dangerous conditions on key roadways, with authorities on Saturday closing down a long stretch of Interstate 80, from Colfax in Northern California to Stateline, Nevada, due to “blowing snow & near-zero visibility,” Caltrans said on Twitter.
In the Sierra, about 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snow already had fallen Saturday afternoon at Mammoth Mountain ski resort south of Yosemite where more than 10 feet (3 meters) of snow has been recorded since early November.
The entire 70 mile stretch of I-80 from California to Nevada has been closed due to no visibility, transportation officials said. Chains were required on much of the rest of I-80 in the mountains from Reno toward Sacramento.
The U.S. Forest Service issued an avalanche warning for the backcountry in the mountains west of Lake Tahoe where it said “several feet of new snow and strong winds will result in dangerous avalanche conditions.”
Gusts of wind up to 50 mph (80 kph) that sent trees into homes in Sonoma County on Saturday could reach 100 mph (160 kph) over Sierra ridgetops by early Sunday, the National Weather Service said.
Heavy rain was forecast through the weekend from San Francisco to the Sierra crest with up to 2 inches (5 centimeters) in the Bay Area and up to 5 inches (13 cm) at Grass Valley northeast of Sacramento.
The weather service issued a flash flood warning on Saturday when inches of rain fell on burn scars left by wildfires south of Monterey and farther south of Big Sur.
Weather Forecast for Northern California During the Decaying Black Hole Melts on Saturday, Dec. 11: Loss of Power, Damaged Homes and Street Lights
A lot of customers in the area were without power at one point Saturday morning, but it was restored to most of them late in the day. The drivers and passengers of five cars that were trapped by power lines did not suffer any harm, according to the Bee.
Some damaged cars and homes were reported by the San Francisco Bay Area officials. In Monte Rio, a small town along the Russian River in Sonoma County, firefighters responded to several reports of downed trees crashing into homes in 50 mph wind gusts.
Monte Rio Fire Department Chief Steve Baxman told KRON-TV that four different down trees had damaged houses in the area and that no injuries were reported.
“This is our first big storm, we’ve had several years of drought and all these trees were dry. Now they’re filling up with water and starting to topple over,” Baxman told the television station.
The storm blanketed some mountain areas of drought-parched California with thick snow, including Soda Springs in the northern part of the state, which received 60 inches of snow in 48 hours.
A multi-day severe storm threat begins Monday for parts of the South and southern central US. A slight threat for severe weather has been issued for parts of western and central Kansas and Oklahoma into northwestern Texas.
The threat is likely to strengthen as the system heads east, impacting a large swath of the Lower Mississippi River Valley. Areas including Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport in Louisiana and Jackson, Mississippi, could see tornadoes, high wind gusts and damaging hail.
In Fargo, North Dakota, there is a winter storm watch in effect from Monday night until late Wednesday night. Duluth, Minnesota, could also see 6 inches of snow and will be under a winter storm watch starting Tuesday morning.
“The snowpack is about 225% of normal, so it’s more than twice what we’d be expecting this time in December,” said Mark Deutschendorf, forecaster at the National Weather Service office in Reno.
The weather looks a lot like Christmas. It stuck to everything, despite the fact that there was a lot of wind. It’s like a picture postcard.”
While he noted the snow totals so far are impressive, Deutschendorf said he is “cautiously optimistic” about this precipitation putting a big dent in the state’s drought.
The Palisades Tahoe Ski Resort Experiered More than 35 inches of Snow in the First 24 Hours since December 1st
“We’re Buried,” the Palisades Tahoe Ski Resort wrote on its website Sunday, sharing photos of thick snow covering the ski resort in Olympic Valley, California.
“This is definitely a storm to remember. We’ve now received 7.5 feet of snow since December 1st. In a matter of 24 hours from Saturday morning to Sunday morning we received more than 35 inches of snow, the 6th largest snowfall total on record.