California’s Sierra Nevada on Monday began digging out from a monster blizzard that dumped several feet of snow on the mountain range and shuttered ski resorts from Lake Tahoe to Mammoth.
The massive storm shuttered Highway 395 from Southern California to Mammoth Mountain and Interstate 80 to the northern Lake Tahoe area for much of the weekend because of whiteout conditions.
The California Department of Transportation on Monday was able to reopen a key stretch of Highway 395 between Mammoth and northwest of Bishop. However, a 50-mile stretch of the highway remains closed north of Mammoth Mountain — all the way to Bridgeport — meaning road access to the ski resort from Reno remains closed. Caltrans crews were still clearing snow off the roadway Monday.
Interstate 80 — the route to the northern Tahoe area — also reopened Monday to passenger traffic. Big rigs are still unable to use the road, which remains snow-covered and icy, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Over the weekend, crews spent several hours rescuing trapped motorists whose vehicles were stuck in the snow on Interstate 80. Emergency personnel and tow trucks had a difficult time getting to drivers. Caltrans has also faced difficulty as snow blowers have broken down under extreme weather conditions.
Sierra ski resorts have reported impressive snow totals. Over the last week, Sugar Bowl recorded more than 10 feet of powder. The blizzard dumped more than 8 feet of snow at Homewood Mountain Resort’s summit and nearly 6 feet at its base. Diamond Peak has received more than 5 feet of snow.
“They’ve been pretty phenomenal,” meteorologist Amanda Young of the National Weather Service’s Reno office said of the snowfall totals. Over the weekend, Sugar Bowl published a video of accumulated, wind-blown snowfall blocking most of a doorway.
Mammoth Mountain received 3 to 4 feet of fresh snow, the ski resort reported on social media. However, it was not expecting many chairlifts to open on time Monday because of strong winds. The resort was forced to close Sunday after being battered by winds up to 70 mph.
There’s a 25% chance of 3 to 5 inches of additional snow falling along Donner Pass on Monday and as much as 6 inches at higher peaks. On the western shore of Lake Tahoe, there’s a slightly lower chance of about an inch of snow Monday.
Snow showers are expected to linger over the northern Sierra on Monday, and there will be additional possibilities of snow Tuesday and Wednesday. Later this week looks to be drier, but it’s possible there could be more mountain snow showers this weekend.
“Winds will continue to subside along the ridges this morning, allowing for more efficient clean up in the Tahoe Basin after this recent storm,” the National Weather Service office in Reno said Monday morning. “Winds will become lighter as the morning moves into afternoon, finally allowing those in Mammoth Lakes to get out and survey the wintry arrival from our big recent snows.”
This story originally appeared on LA Times
