Snow wanes in California mountains, but power outages and long travel delays persist
A mighty snowstorm that dumped feet of snow down to low elevations in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains is forecast to subside Wednesday, but residual impacts are continuing in the form of severe travel delays and power outages.
Interstate 80 remained closed between Applegate and the Nevada state line as of noon and was expected to reopen at some point in the afternoon, Caltrans said.
Highway 50 reopened to traffic Tuesday evening, following closures for avalanche control work.
In Sacramento, city emergency officials and American Red Cross workers served hot meals and offered blankets to travelers stranded Tuesday evening at the Greyhound bus station at 420 Richards Blvd. in the River District.
“After assessing the situation, we decided to shelter-in-place these folks rather than transport them to another city facility,” said Daniel Bowers, the city’s director of emergency management. “Easier to bring in resources from the American Red Cross, including blankets, comfort kits.”
Bowers said there were about 50 stranded Greyhound customers as of 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“We’ve been told that it’s the weather and we’ve also been told that they can’t find as many bus drivers (as they need),” said Barbara Frederick, a Greyhound passenger who has been waiting two weeks to return home to Oregon.
Widespread power outages were reported in the mountains and foothills.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. as of Wednesday morning reported more than 88,000 homes and businesses without power in California, including more than 20,000 customers in El Dorado County, including portions of Placerville, Pollock Pines and Camino; more than 13,000 in Nevada County; and more than 4,000 in Placer County, including parts of Foresthill and Colfax.
More than 7 feet of snow fell in three days at high elevations in the greater Lake Tahoe area – mammoth totals of 92 inches were recorded at Palisades Tahoe and 87 inches at the UC Berkeley Sierra Snow Lab, each for the 72 hours ending 6 a.m. Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Significant snow accumulated down to low elevations, blanketing parts of the Sierra Nevada foothills. More than 2 feet of snow fell in Grass Valley, the weather service said.
An 80-year-old Foresthill woman died Tuesday after the porch of her home collapsed due to snow, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office and the weather service.
Placer County sheriff’s officials reported an avalanche Tuesday evening at Olympic Valley, just north of Palisades Tahoe, which “engulfed” the bottom two floors of a three-story apartment building with snow. All occupants were safely evacuated, with residents accounted for, the Sheriff’s Office said.
A winter storm warning from the weather service was allowed to expire Wednesday morning.
Precipitation has cleared out in the Sacramento Valley, but cold and breezy conditions, with gusts up to 30 mph near Sacramento, remained in Wednesday’s forecast.
More Sierra snow coming this weekend
Early March snow will follow the late February dumping, with the weather service forecasting another “major” winter storm beginning this coming Saturday and lasting through at least Monday.
Moderate to heavy snow is expected above elevations of 2,500 feet beginning Saturday, lowering to about 1,500 feet Sunday. Snow showers will linger Monday and Tuesday, forecasts show.
The latest weather service forecasts show 2 to 4 inches of snow possible during the day on Saturday, with heavier but unsettled amounts possible Saturday night and Sunday.
Rain will return in the valley, with showers likely Saturday and Sunday in Sacramento, according to the weather service.
Daytime highs will warm back up to the high 50s Thursday and around 60 degrees on Friday, before dropping back to the low 50s this weekend in Sacramento.
This story was originally published March 1, 2023 at 11:54 AM.
