Storm closes Interstate 80, Highway 50 in Northern California as rain and snow totals pile up
The powerful storm that has pummeled Northern California for nearly three days continues to wreck havoc on roadways, especially over Sierra mountain passes — and brought remarkable precipitation totals to the region.
Shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday, the California Highway Patrol reported that eastbound Interstate 80 was closed at Colfax and the westbound lanes were closed at the Nevada state line because of vehicle spinouts. A half-hour before, Caltrans officials said they were holding traffic in both directions on Highway 50 over Echo Summit for avalanche control. They estimated the closure would remain for about an hour.
Hours before, Caltrans officials reported all eastbound traffic on Interstate 80 was being turned at Alta and Colfax because of vehicle spinouts and problems with traction.
After being closed since Tuesday night, northbound traffic on Interstate 5 in Redding was reopened, though officials cautioned motorists against traveling there; southbound I-5 was being screened at Yreka. Traffic was backed-up past the South Bonnyview Road exit, according to Caltrans. Authorities also warned drivers not to drive on the road shoulders, which are needed for emergency personnel.
The storm’s impressive power was felt on the valley floor as well.
Over the past 72 hours, the storm drenched downtown Sacramento with nearly 2 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. Folsom received more than 2 inches of rain, Galt on the south end of Sacramento County, had 1.62 inches and Rio Linda on the north end had 1.22 inches of rain.
The weather service reported “impressive snow amounts” across the Sierra, with 29 inches at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort over the last 24 hours and 57 inches for the storm total. The storm dropped 22 inches of snow at Heavenly Mountain over the past 24 hours and 45 inches total.
Soda Springs Mountain Resort received 32 inches of snowfall over the past 24 hours, and 62 inches of snow fell on Dodge Ridge Ski Resort, according to the weather service.
In South Lake Tahoe, the 20-plus inches of snow that fell overnight created dangerous driving conditions, city officials said Thursday morning in a news release. Snow plows were out but officials said the removal will be slow because of the large volume.
“We are asking for patience as our plow operators work very hard to clear our streets,” South Lake Tahoe Public Works Director Ray Jarvis said in the news release. “There is a lot of ground to cover but we will get there.”
City officials reminded residents snowplows have the right of way on streets during snow removal, and vehicles left unattended in the street are subject to citation or tow. They also said the South Lake Tahoe Police Department was aggressively ticketing people with vehicles in the right of way.
The heavy snowfall was expected to continue Thursday with snow-covered roads, so it remained “difficult to near impossible” for drivers to travel through the mountains in these “extremely dangerous” conditions, the weather service said.
Weather service forecasters said they couldn’t rule out the possibility of a stray isolated thunderstorm in portions of the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys Thursday afternoon. If a thunderstorm develops, most likely between noon and 7 p.m., it may bring brief heavy rainfall, small hail and lightning.
This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 11:58 AM.
