Weekend storm warning means a white Christmas comes to the Sierra Nevada

With travel already discouraged due to the coronavirus pandemic, here’s another reason not to head over to Lake Tahoe for the Christmas weekend.

The National Weather Service’s Sacramento office issued a winter storm warning for Christmas Day to last until Saturday at 4 p.m., predicting 2 feet of snow at the highest elevations.

The west slopes of the Sierra Nevada are in for the heaviest snowfall as a storm rolls over much of Northern California, but parts of the Coast Range, the Klamath Mountains and the Cascades will see snow as well.

NWS forecasters expect up to 18 inches of snow on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada and along the southern Cascades, while the Coast Range could see up to 8 inches of snow.

The rest of Northern California is expected to see some moderate rainfall. Sacramento could see anywhere from a quarter-inch to a half-inch of rain, while Chico could get up to an inch and Grass Valley could see two inches.

NWS officials warned that travel over the mountains will be difficult and will likely be hampered by chain controls, delays and potentially road closures.

“Significant travel impacts are expected along mountain passes due to heavy snow, periods of lower visibilities due to gusty winds, and increased holiday traffic,” meteorologists wrote in a Friday forecast discussion. “The heaviest snow and potential period of greatest travel delays will be from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. tonight.”

The storm is expected to start clearing Saturday afternoon, but another storm system of lesser potency is headed toward California that may hit Sunday night. This storm is expected to affect Central California more than Northern California, according to the weather service.

This story was originally published December 25, 2020 at 12:02 PM.