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CNN —Blizzard conditions continued to slam Northern California over the weekend with damaging winds and heavy snow dumping on mountain ridges down to the valleys. The most extreme conditions are unfolding at the highest elevations in the mountains, with whiteout conditions and hurricane-force winds. The weather service has warned of “high to extreme” avalanche danger through Sunday afternoon in the Central Sierra and Greater Lake Tahoe area. “Expect snowy conditions throughout the park,” park officials said. A blizzard warning remains in effect for the park area until 7 p.m. on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service in Hanford, California.

Persons: “, Whiteouts, Brooke Hess, Mario Tama Organizations: CNN, Blizzard, Prediction, Central Sierra, Intermountain, Weather, West, National Weather Service, California Department of Transportation, Donner Summit, California Highway Patrol, Facebook, Officials Locations: Northern California, Sierra Nevada, Nevada, Greater Lake Tahoe, Sierra, California, Tahoe, Twin, Truckee, Truckee , California, Colfax, Yosemite, Hanford , California

Thousands of residents were left without power, and life came to a standstill for many in the Sierra Nevada region on Saturday after a winter storm dumped as much as two feet of snow overnight and created treacherous conditions. About 49,000 customers in Nevada and California were without electricity on Saturday morning, according to PowerOutage.us. With whiteout conditions in the mountains, ski resorts in the Lake Tahoe area paused operations. And highway officials shut down Interstate 80, the main artery that traverses the Sierra Nevada over Donner Summit, a key trucking route from the San Francisco Bay Area. Palisades Tahoe, a resort that closed ski area operations on Saturday across all terrain, reported 24 inches of new snow in the past 24 hours.

Persons: Organizations: Donner Summit, San, Patrol, Sierra Snow Laboratory Locations: Sierra Nevada, Nevada, California, San Francisco Bay Area, Donner

☆ NOAA Forecasters See a Respite for California
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Raymond Zhong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The NewsWeather forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday issued their latest outlook for the United States, and there’s at least one piece of hopeful news for a state that has already had a wild year, weather-wise: California. But according to NOAA’s latest forecasts, temperatures for May through July are highly likely to be in line with historical averages across California and Nevada. For May, much of California could even see cooler-than-normal conditions, the agency said. This could mean the snow’s melting would be more gradual than abrupt, more beneficial to water supplies than destructive to homes and farms. “The picture is relatively optimistic compared to what it could be,” said Andrew Schwartz, lead scientist at the Central Sierra Snow Laboratory, part of the University of California, Berkeley.

☆ Record snowpack in California poses severe flood risk, officials warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

California's statewide snowpack could top records after a recent series of powerful storms, state water officials said Monday, and melting snow from the Sierra Nevada range poses a severe flood risk to some areas. This year's major snowfall provides some relief to California, which was three years into a prolonged drought and grappling with plummeting reservoir levels. "This year's result will go down as one of the largest snowpack years on record in California," said Sean de Guzman, manager of DWR's Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Unit. California's snowpack levels varied by region, with the Southern Sierra snowpack reaching 300% of its April 1 average and the Central Sierra reaching 237% of its April 1 average, officials said. And the critical Northern Sierra, home to the state's largest surface water reservoirs, is at 192% of its April 1 average.

☆ California gets brief lull after damaging ‘bomb cyclone’
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

CAPITOLA, Calif. — California weather calmed Friday but the lull was expected to be brief as more Pacific storms lined up to blast into the state, where successive powerful weather systems have knocked out power to thousands, battered the coastline, flooded streets, toppled trees and caused at least six deaths. Remnant showers from the latest storm, a “bomb cyclone,” fell around the state and dangerous surf pounded the coast despite declining wave heights, while some areas enjoyed sunshine. A Southern California pier was damaged by high surf and winds overnight and will remain closed until it is repaired, officials said. Downtown San Francisco had its wettest 10-day period since 1871 between Dec. 26 and Jan. 4 when 10.33 inches (26.24 centimeters) of rain fell. A powerful New Year’s weekend storm caused extensive flooding in Northern California’s Sacramento County and four deaths.

☆ Storms in California have led to high snowpack and great skiing conditions — but the deluge still may not be enough to fill the state's empty reservoirs after years of drought
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

California has faced heavy precipitation in recent weeks, leading to a high snowpack. The snowpack provides a third of California's water needs, but it's too soon to assess the impact on the drought. The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, the mountain range that runs along the eastern part of the state, is often called California's "frozen reservoirs." Though the high snowpack this early in the season is promising, if the precipitation doesn't continue, it may not be enough to significantly address the drought. "It's great for the state of California to get out of this drought, and it's great for skiing."

☆ Storm blowing through California dumps snow in Sierra
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Heavy snow fell in the Sierra Nevada as a winter storm packing powerful winds sent ski lift chairs swinging and closed mountain highways while downpours at lower elevations triggered flood watches Sunday across large swaths of California into Nevada. More than 250 miles (400 km) of the Sierra from north of Reno south to Yosemite National Park remained under winter storm warnings either until late Sunday or early Monday. The Heavenly ski resort at Lake Tahoe shut down some operations on Saturday when the brunt of the storm hit. The UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab reported Sunday morning that more than 43 inches (110 cm) had fallen in a 48-hour span. A stretch of California Highway 89 also was closed due to heavy snow between Tahoe City and South Lake Tahoe, the highway patrol said.

☆ 'Significant storm' to batter west with high winds and heavy snow forecast
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Leila Sackur | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A "significant winter storm" will dump heavy snow and make travel dangerous as it makes its way across the west of the country over the weekend, forecasters warned early Saturday. “High winds, heavy snow and heavy precipitation will reach the Pacific Northwest today, then impact California,” the National Weather Service said in a bulletin. More than 5 feet of snow is expected in the Sierra Nevada, resulting in “extremely dangerous travel, especially across mountain passes,” it added. “A winter storm with gale force winds, high intensity snowfall and feet of new snow accumulation may result in widespread avalanche activity in the mountains,” the Forest Service Sierra Avalanche Center said Friday. Elsewhere 1-3 feet of snow are expected across mountain ranges of the west coast, the NWS said.

☆ Parts of the West have double the normal snowpack. Experts say it’s too early to get excited
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Jennifer Gray | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

With back-to-back-to-back winter storms across the West, the snowpack is thriving. Parts of the Sierra and the Pacific Northwest are seeing above-average snowpack for this time of year. The drought monitor released some of the numbers Thursday, which showed some of the driest areas in the West with decent snow. They are counting on a good snowpack. More snow expected this weekBoth the Sierra and the Rockies will get hit with more snow this week as multiple storm systems traverse the West.

☆ Back-to-back winter storms bring heavy snow, critical fire conditions and even a possible haboob to the West
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Jennifer Gray | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The winter storm that dumped up to two feet of snow across the Cascades and the northern Rockies in the Northwest on Thursday will impact the Central US Friday. Check your forecast here“The cold front has featured everything from 82 mph winds to snow squall conditions to thundersnow,” the National Weather Service office in Salt Lake City said. With several feet of new snow in the mountains, an avalanche warning has been issued for the Central Sierra, including Greater Lake Tahoe through Friday evening. “Confidence has also increased in blowing dust including the potential of a wall of dust developing along the cold front,” the weather service warned. The weather service in Eureka, California, noted the “possibility of isolated thunderstorms capable of producing small hail” near the coast.

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