A powerful blizzard continues to batter the California mountains with crippling conditions including feet of snow and wind gusts exceeding 100 mph.
FOX Weather reporter Max Jordan was in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., on Sunday as a crippling snowstorm battered the Sierra Nevada with feet of mountain snow and high wind gusts that created life-threatening conditions.
South Lake Tahoe, California. – A powerful, days-long blizzard hit California and the West with feet of mountain snow, wind gusts of up to 190 mph, and even a rare tornado that continued on Sunday before wintry conditions calmed a bit before another round of snow and high winds returned to the region with The beginning of the new work week.
The severe weather was driven by a widespread area of low pressure that extended over much of the West Coast and fed a steady stream of snow that was expected to add up to 5 feet or more at higher elevations and 2-5 feet. In the lower elevations where many residents live.
Many highways and mountain passes were closed due to the storm. Including busy Interstate 80 Which connects San Francisco to the Lake Tahoe area and Reno, Nevada via the Sierra Nevada mountain range. CalTrans crews closed 50 miles of road Friday evening From Drum Forebay to the California-Nevada state line after several outages were reported amid blizzard conditions.
WATCH: Blizzard conditions keep I-80 closed in California
The California Highway Patrol shared video of power outage conditions on Interstate 80, as a severe snowstorm hit the area. I-80 remains closed from Colfax, California to the Nevada state line.
The closure has been extended west to Colfax, California, and there is no estimated time for the highway to reopen.
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“(Friday) night we had a large number of vehicles stuck over Donner Summit and it took several hours for emergency personnel and tow trucks to reach motorists,” California Highway Patrol officials posted on X. Tow trucks had difficulty reaching motorists due to blizzard conditions.”
Troops worked to help clear the road of abandoned vehicles left on the highway after transporting drivers to a safe place, reiterating that there is no estimate for when I-80 will reopen.
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Blizzard warnings continue for parts of the Sierra Nevada, including the popular Lake Tahoe area, and are expected to last through Monday morning. A potentially deadly combination of extreme snowfall rates and hurricane-force wind gusts, with whiteout conditions and rapidly accumulating and drifting snowfall, will persist.
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Palisades Ski Resort in Lake Tahoe at 8,700 feet has recorded multiple wind gusts over 150 mph since Friday, including one measurement of a gust that recorded 190 mph on Friday night, while the gust reached 84 mph near City.
Even more seriously, forecasters are now warning of the possibility of thunderstorms that could bring incredible snowfall rates of 4 to 6 inches per hour.
The authority warned that “storms of this size are rare and capable of closing major roads and damaging energy infrastructure for long periods of time.” “Make sure you have food, water, and a secondary heat source for more than a few days in your home in case of a prolonged power outage.”
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Yosemite National Park was closed Thursday night ahead of the storm, which was expected to bring several feet of snow to the park. National Park Service officials said the park will remain closed until at least noon Sunday, and possibly longer.
Elsewhere, winter storm warnings are in place due to a mix of snow and gusty winds across other parts of Northern California. In parts of western Nevada, including Reno, a winter weather advisory is in effect until 10 a.m. PT Sunday.
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Bad weather was not limited to the Sierra Nevada. A tornado struck the San Joaquin Valley on Friday evening, triggering a rare tornado warning for the region.
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A storm-producing blizzard system produced at least one tornado in central California on Friday.
Despite the advisories, residents from across the San Joaquin Valley captured photos and videos of the funnel and subsequent tornado as it moved north through properties used for residential and agricultural purposes.
Local authorities did not report any injuries associated with the event, and it is believed that the tornado was on the ground only briefly. An NWS storm survey team is scheduled to head to the area Saturday to assess the strength of the hurricane and any impacts.
In San Francisco, where winds reached 54 mph, four people were injured when a huge tree branch struck a car, according to the city Fire Department. The four were taken to a local hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries has not been determined.
A large tree falls on a car in San Francisco on March 1, 2024. (San Francisco Fire Department/FOX Weather)
Nevada is facing hurricane force winds
The massive area of low pressure swirling across the west also helped produce damaging winds across Nevada that caused power outages.
NV Energy, the state's largest utility provider, reported more than 25,000 power outages Saturday afternoon, which included parts of the popular Las Vegas Strip.
The company asked customers to be patient, as some outages could be widespread, especially in mountainous areas. Outage numbers had dropped significantly by Sunday, with PowerOutage.US reporting fewer than 1,000 outages.
Harry Reid International Airport recorded wind gusts of 68 mph, making today the windiest March day since 1985.
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Outage numbers were also down in California, with PowerOutage.US reporting more than 19,000 outages as of Sunday afternoon.
When will the snow end?
While strong winds and heavy snow should begin to ease later Sunday, snow forecasts remain in the region into next week, as a broad area of low pressure continues to send a stream of moisture and wind into the Sierra Nevada mountain range. .
Increased precipitation chances, including additional heavy snowfall, are expected from the southern Cascades into the northern Sierra and possibly inland across the northern Great Basin, the National Weather Service said.
“The timing and location of the heaviest amounts remains uncertain at this time, but another influx of moisture from the Pacific Ocean is expected,” the National Weather Service said.
Drier weather promises to return later in the week, although the expanded forecast calls for a return of storm activity the following week.
“We hope you're prepared to stay in this for the duration, because you're going to be in both directions,” meteorologists in Reno, Nevada, said.
