Massive blizzard hits California and Nevada: All you need to know

A blizzard hit California and Nevada recently and deposited up to 10 feet of snow on the California mountains. It has caused the snowpack levels to rise above average for the first time in 2024.

According to National Weather Service in Sacramento, the current winter storm warning is in effect till 4 PM PST Tuesday, March 5. Additional snow accumulations of 6 to 12 inches at elevations above 4000 feet, locally up to 2 feet at highest peaks is expected with winds gusting as high as 35 mph. The areas expected to be hit by the storm are Shasta Lake Area/Northern Shasta County, Burney Basin/Eastern Shasta County and Mountains Southwestern Shasta County to Western Colusa County Counties.

What happened?

The Sugar Bowl ski resort at 7,000 feet (2,134 meters) up among mountain peaks in California 46 miles (74 kilometers) west of Reno recorded the highest amounts of snow. The storm started moving through Sierra Nevada region on Thursday, February 29, covering a 480-kilometer stretch of the mountains, and was finally dissipating on Monday, March 3, according to the National Weather Service in Sacramento.

Palisades’, another ski mountain resort’s four-day snow total was nearly 8 feet (2.4 meters), according to the weather service. Homewood ski resort received more than 7 feet (2.1 meters) of snow since Thursday night. The water content of the snowpack on Monday stood at 104% of the average to date, according to online data from the California Department of Water Resources.

What are the damages?

The weekend blizzard caused traffic backups and closures on Interstate 80 and other roadways. It shut down ski resorts with the warning, covering a 300-mile (480-kilometer) stretch of the mountains. It also left thousands of homes and businesses without power. A long stretch of I-80 from west of Lake Tahoe over Donner Summit to the Nevada state line reopened to all except for big rigs late Monday morning, the California Highway Patrol’s Truckee office said. Stretches of other mountain highways in the area remained closed for the fourth day in a row on Tuesday. By Sunday evening, Pacific Gas & Electric had restored electricity to all but about 4,800 Northern California customers, while NV Energy had reduced its outages to roughly 1,000 homes and businesses across the state line in Nevada.

What are the environmental effects predicted?

The precipitation will help recharge aquifers and reservoirs, improve fish habitat and ease constraints on farmers in California, home to nearly 40 million people and a $50 billion agricultural industry. After suffering historic drought for much of this century, the state is on track for a second wet year in a row.

Statewide, snow levels were at 104% of average for March 4, according to the California Department of Water Resources, with northern region at 111% of normal and the south at 94%. But water managers place more importance on snowpack measurements as of April 1, and the current level statewide is only 94% of the April 1 average.

Experts say that snow levels measuring just a few points above average will fail to solve long-term problems and fear that another warm rainstorm would wash away much of the reserve and increase flood risk.

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