No replies to this topic

[tahoeistruckin]

After a dismal Xmas and President's day weekend, a trio of storms are nailing the Sierria's

read on compliaments to the tahoe daily Tribune.




Storm slams Sierra
Jeff Munson, jmunson@tahoedailytribune.com
February 26, 2007


Part two of a trio of winter storms slammed into the Sierra on Sunday, snarling Highway 50 for Sacramento- and Bay Area-bound motorists, but bringing much-needed snow to ski resorts that have struggled this season.

The third storm, considered to be the strongest, should arrive sometime today and last into Tuesday, bringing with it at least a foot of snow at lake level, and two or more feet above 7,000 feet. When all is said and done, more than six feet will have fallen at lake level and six feet of snow will have fallen in higher elevations, forecasters say.


Jim Grant / Tahoe Daily Tribune / While walking through the casino corridor, a pedestrian uses an umbrella as a shield against the blizzard-like conditions on Sunday morning.

Between the steady purr of snowblowers in neighborhoods from Stateline to Meyers, traffic eked along the busy highway corridor, following about a two-hour shutdown of Highway 50 for avalanche control. More than 50 reports of fender-bender accidents were made to police dispatch on Sunday, none of the accidents being very serious.

"The difference between this storm and other storms is that this one fell at the end of the President's Day week. We had a lot of vacationers up here trying to get back home," said Leona Allen, communications supervisor for the 911 center in South Lake Tahoe.

Chains were mandatory Sunday on a Highway 50 over Echo Summit, Interstate 80 over Donner Summit, and Highway 88 over Carson Pass. Chains or snow tires were required on most other highways in the region, including much of Highway 395 between Bridgeport and Reno.

Whiteout conditions caused by 60-plus mph gusts forced a number of lifts to shut down early Sunday afternoon at a number of resorts, including Heavenly. Since Thursday, the storms have dropped more than 4 1/2 feet of snow at between Heavenly Mountain Resort, Kirkwood Mountain Resort and Sierra-at-Tahoe.

Today's storm, however, should be bigger than the two other systems, with anywhere between 12 and 18 inches expected at lake level and between 18 to 30 inches above 7,000 feet, according to the National Weather Service.

"This next one should be the grand-daddy because it has the support of both of the jet streams," said Simon Smith, South Lake Tahoe's co-op observer for the National Weather Service. The storm should start sometime this afternoon and could last well into Tuesday, possibly into Wednesday.

The snowfall also has given a much-needed boost to a skimpy Sierra snowpack, which has recently stood at 40 percent to 50 percent of average for the date in the Lake Tahoe area.