Snowstorm and rain showers fall on Northern California. Interstate 80 closed by spinouts
Just days after parts of the valley reached 90 degrees, and less than a day removed from the earliest fire weather warning ever issued in spring, rain and snow fell Monday across Northern California amid a 30-degree cooldown expected to last most of this week.
Chain controls were in place on several mountain highways Monday morning, Caltrans said, as the National Weather Service predicts about a foot of snow could fall at the pass level in the central Sierra Nevada range by the end of the day. Snow will fall as low as about 4,000 feet.
Precipitation totals are forecast to be lighter and more scattered in the Sacramento Valley. The weather service reported less than a tenth of an inch expected near the capital city, while some parts of the Sierra foothills could see up to about a half-inch.
But the weather service also said isolated thunderstorms would be possible Monday afternoon and evening in the valley and foothills, which could bring heavier rain along with hail and gusts.
The weather service at 2 p.m. issued an advisory warning of 30-mph winds and “pea-sized” hail possible through 2:45 p.m. in a stretch of El Dorado County including Placerville, Diamond Springs, Pollock Pines and Kyburz.
Daytime highs in Sacramento are forecast to stay in the low 60s through at least Thursday — roughly 10 degrees cooler than normal for this time of year, after downtown hit 92 degrees last Friday, setting a new daily record that was 20 degrees hotter than average.
Nighttime lows could drop to the upper 30s late Monday and Tuesday, according to the weather service.
More light rain is also anticipated after a break Tuesday, with weather service forecasts showing showers likely in Sacramento on Wednesday night and Thursday, with chances of showers persisting Friday through at least Saturday.
As for the mountains, snowfall later in the week is expected to be lighter than Monday’s storm.
Forecasts call for about a half-inch each of Tuesday and Wednesday for most of the central Sierra, with up to 2 inches possible Thursday. Light, scattered snow showers could last into the weekend.
Eastbound Interstate 80 was closed at Donner Summit between about 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Monday due to a crash amid heavy snow, Caltrans and the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said. Westbound I-80 traffic was also being turned around near Truckee for about two hours Monday morning due to big rigs spinning out.
I-80 and Highway 50 were open in both directions in the mountains as of early Monday afternoon, with chains required on I-80 near summit level.
What about drought and wildfire risk?
Spring snow is a welcome sight for drought-ravaged California.
The state Department of Water Resources reported Friday that California snowpack had dwindled to just 26% of normal for the date. Mighty storms last October and December pushed snowpack above 150% of normal by Jan. 1, but that withered over the first three months of the calendar year due to disappointing snow amounts coupled with hot temperatures during stretches in March.
All 17 of California’s reservoirs are below their historical averages, most of them below 70% of normal, even in the wake of rapid snowmelt.
The U.S. Drought Monitor last week reported that 94% of California is in at least “severe” drought, including 41% of the state in “extreme” drought.
This week’s storms will give Northern California a bit of a boost, but won’t be enough to ward off drought unless they’re followed by an unexpected torrent over the next few weeks. The rain and snow should give the region a temporary reprieve from early-spring wildfire risk, which had just started to emerge.
Sacramento went a record-setting 67 days without rain earlier this year, en route to recording by far the driest three-month start to a calendar year in the city’s history. State water officials also said during an April 1 snow survey that this year marked the least precipitation ever recorded from January through March in the central Sierra mountains, according to records that go back more than 100 years.
Dry conditions plus gusty winds led the weather service to issue the year’s first red flag warning, which was in effect from Saturday morning through Sunday evening across a large stretch of the Sacramento Valley. The weather service’s Sacramento office noted it as the earliest red flag warning ever issued in spring for interior Northern California.
A vegetation fire near the town of Grayson in Stanislaus County prompted a brief round of evacuations Sunday afternoon, authorities said.
This story was originally published April 11, 2022 at 8:11 AM.
