Heavy snow is forecast through at least Monday night in the region
At press time, millions across the western United States are on alert for dangerous weather. From California to Texas, every state in the West is dealing with either winter or wind alerts – or both, and the California Highway Patrol issued a dire warning: “We suggest you stay home,” it said. “Stay warm and don’t put yourself and your family in a dangerous position.”
In Sierra-Nevada, where a life-threatening late winter storm is expected to drop at least 12’ (3.7 m) of snow, whiteout conditions forced the shutdown of a 70-mile (113-kilometer) section of Interstate 80, stranding motorists for hours, and cut off Mammoth Mountain from Southern California.
“ Impacts from a major winter storm persist today into Sunday across interior NorCal. After a very brief reprieve early Monday, the next system arrives Monday afternoon, bringing additional periods of moderate to heavy mountain snow and gusty winds through early Wednesday, ” the National Weather Service said in a statement late Saturday.
The NWS forecast for the region calls for moderate to heavy snow Saturday afternoon becoming heavy snow and thunderstorms Saturday night followed by heavy snow on Sunday and Sunday evening, with snow showers forecast for Monday.
The National Weather Service confirmed that a wind gust of 190 mph (306 km/h) was detected Friday night at Palisades Tahoe at an elevation of 8,700 feet (2,652 m). The state’s fastest ever wind gust verified by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was 199 mph (320 km/h) on February 20, 2017, at Ward Mountain, also known as Ward Peak, at Palisades Tahoe.
A 75-mile (121-kilometer) stretch of Highway 395, the main road to Mammoth Mountain ski resort, was shut down in both directions. i.e., to the south, toward Southern California, and to the north, toward Reno. The road was closed from just northwest of Bishop in Inyo County to Bridgeport in Mono County, “due to multiple spinouts and collisions, as well as whiteout conditions,” the California Department of Transportation said in a statement.
“At this point, we are only allowing first responders and Caltrans employees on I-80. No essential big rigs, no ski resort employees,” the agency said on social media.
The California Highway Patrol said that hundreds of vehicles were stuck on the Donner Pass, a 7,056-foot-high (2,151 m) mountain pass in the northern Sierra Nevada, above Donner Lake and Donner Memorial State Park near Truckee, California. It took several hours for emergency personnel and tow trucks to reach the stranded motorists.
In addition to the blizzard and whiteout conditions, there is a high risk of avalanches in the region. Over 4’ (1.22 m) of snow has already fallen and several more feet are expected.
Some communities have reported up to 70 mph (113 km/h) wind guests although the highest recorded wind gust of the storm
Travel in the region is next to impossible and the impact of the storm is expected to last for days.
Meanwhile, in the Texas Panhandle, strong winds are fueling the state’s largest ever wildfire, the deadly Smokehouse Creek fire, which now covers an area bigger than the state of Rhode Island. At least two people are dead as a result of the fire, and as many as 500 structures have been destroyed.
The fire threat stretches from the Lone Star state into Nebraska and Wyoming.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
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