Heavy rain, wind, snow blows through California into Sierra
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A winter storm packing powerful winds, heavy rain and potentially several feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada shut down mountain highways, toppled trees and triggered flood watches and avalanche warnings on Saturday from the coast of Northern California to Lake Tahoe.
More than 250 miles (400 kilometers) of the Sierra remained under a winter storm warning at least until Sunday night or early Monday from north of Reno to south of Yosemite National Park.
As much as 4 feet (1.2 meters) of snow is expected to fall by the end of the weekend in the upper elevations around Lake Tahoe, and as much as 6 feet (1.8 meters) in more remote parts of the Sierra to the north and south.
A 70-mile (112-kilometer) stretch of eastbound U.S. Interstate 80 was closed “due to zero visibility” from Colfax, California to the Nevada state line, transportation officials said. Chains were required on much of the rest of I-80 in the mountains from Reno toward Sacramento.
A stretch of California Highway 89 also was closed due to heavy snow between Tahoe City and South Lake Tahoe, California, the highway patrol said.
The U.S. Forest Service issued an avalanche warning for the backcountry in the mountains west of Lake Tahoe where it said “several feet of new snow and strong winds will result in dangerous avalanche conditions.”
Gusts of wind up to 50 mph (80 kph) that sent trees into homes in Sonoma County on Saturday could reach 100 mph (160 kph) over Sierra ridgetops by early Sunday, the National Weather Service said.
Heavy rain was forecast through the weekend from San Francisco to the Sierra crest with up to 2 inches (5 centimeters) in the Bay Area and up to 5 inches (13 cm) at Grass Valley northeast of Sacramento.
The weather service issued a flash flood warning on Saturday when...