Winter weather returns with a vengeance to Bishop
Snow amounts rare though falls short of historic record
The wallop of a winter storm that hit the Owens Valley over the weekend snarled traffic, closed government facilities, caused a blackout but didn’t come close to breaking any records, according to the National Weather Service.
Matt Woods, a meteorologist for the NWS Las Vegas office, reported Monday that there are two reporting sites in the Bishop area. He said the agency’s “official” Bishop site, at 4,200 feet, recorded 11 inches of snow. The other site, located about seven miles west of
Bishop reported 7.5 inches of the white stuff.
While residents might have been surprised at the amount of snow that fell over the weekend, Woods said that it fell short of breaking the historic record. The meteorologist reported that the record for the most snowfall in a two-day period occurred on Jan. 25, 1969, at which time 23 inches of snowfall was reported.
He said, coincidentally, the last time the Bishop area saw 11 inches of snowfall also occurred on Jan. 25 but it was in 1999.
While the snowstorm might not have carried record amounts of precipitation, it played havoc with roads, businesses and government agencies.
storm’s impact
On Friday morning,
Inyo County announced that its facilities, including landfills and transfer stations, would be closed due to hazardous weather and road conditions throughout the Eastern Sierra. The closure was extended through Saturday.
Caltrans reported closures and re-openings on U.S. Highway 395 in Inyo and Mono counties throughout the weekend as crews worked to keep roads cleared.
On Sunday, Caltrans reported that U.S. Highway 395 from Lee Vining to Bridgeport will remain in a “hard closure” due to several avalanches from the recent snowstorms and the potential for more.
The agency reported that Caltrans crews on Saturday cleared two trapped law enforcement vehicles that had been surrounded by two avalanches at Mono Lake.
“New slides have been falling from the wildfire burn scar on the west side of this two-lane stretch of road along the lake, and there is a strong potential for more,” Caltrans reported Sunday.
Also on Saturday, Southern California Edison crews responded to the severe winter storm that was impacting much of the company’s service area, including the city of Bishop, Bishop Paiute
Tribe and portions of unincorporated Inyo County. Multiple business had to temporarily close due to the power outage and residents also were left without power for much of Saturday.
SCE had prepared its facilities and pre-staged equipment and crews in areas to be potentially impacted by the storm. Power was restored throughout Saturday afternoon into the evening.
Because of the power outage, Inyo County opened up a warming center at 586 Central St. in Bishop to help affected SCE customers.
Inyo County officials on Saturday advised residents not in need of the warming center to shelter in place and avoid driving on area roads and highways if possible “as snow and high winds continue to pound the Eastern Sierra.”
“All emergency resources are currently tapped throughout California during this storm system,” the county advised. “Motorists are asked NOT to bypass road closures and risk getting stuck, putting further stress on a limited pool of first responders.”
Northern Inyo Healthcare District temporarily closed its clinics and diagnostic services Friday afternoon and Saturday to ensure the safety of patients and district employees.
the forecast
While the winter storm warning remained in effect for the Owens Valley through Sunday afternoon, Woods said the “active pattern” of snow and precipitation is expected to continue through at least Wednesday.
He said that the forecast called for light snow throughout Monday and into the evening with a possible accumulation of about a half an inch.
Woods said another round of snow or precipitation could roll through the area this evening and into Wednesday.
“After Wednesday, we might quiet down for a little bit,” Woods said. “We might get a break for at least a couple of days but there are some hints that maybe another system will be coming through, perhaps next weekend. I don’t think we’re done with winter just yet.”