Some ski resorts report record February snowfall

Fueled by a parade of storms in recent weeks that have blanketed the Sierra Nevada with several feet of snow, at least two ski resorts are reporting a record amount of snowfall this month — with more storms possible in the coming days.

At Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows in the Tahoe area, 247 inches (about 20.5 feet) of snow have been recorded so far, shattering the previous February record of 196 inches set in 2017, according to Alex Spychalsky, a spokeswoman for the ski resort.

More could be on the way, with a possible storm system that will hit the Sierra Nevada area on Thursday.

In the Bay Area, a weak storm system is expected to bring scattered showers on Wednesday, followed by a stretch of dry but cold conditions, according to the National Weather Service. Rainfall totals from the storm Wednesday are expected to measure in the hundredths of an inch.

“It’s not a lot of rain,” said Drew Peterson, a meteorologist with the weather service. “It’s some really light, hit-or-miss showers. Some places won’t see a thing.”

The weather service said the cold system will drop south from British Columbia sometime Wednesday morning and spread inland through the afternoon. Snow levels in the Bay Area will be around 2,500 to 3,000 feet.

Meteorologists with the weather service are tracking another system that could impact the region Sunday into Monday with scattered showers.

Any additional snowfall this month could enable Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows to break its all-time record for snow in any month, 282 inches in January, 2017. Snowfall records at Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows date back to 1970.

About 150 miles south at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, 190 inches of snow has been recorded so far this month at the resort’s main lodge (elevation 8,909 feet), eclipsing a February record of 168 inches set in 1986, according to Lauren Burke, the resort’s spokeswoman. Snowfall records at Mammoth Mountain date back to the 1969-70 winter.

“It’s really hard to grasp the full scope of how much snow is in town and on the

mountain until you see it,” Burke said. “There’s 15 to 20-foot tall snow banks around town. It’s been really incredible to see how much snow has actually piled up.”

There’s been so much snow this month that people across the Sierra Nevada have posted videos and images capturing the mountains of snow with the hashtag “FebruBuried.”

The most recent storm over Presidents Day weekend dropped several feet of new snow in the Sierra Nevada and caused gridlock and headaches for thousands of motorists along the two main arteries: Highway 50 and Interstate 80.

Snow-loving people ignored a winter storm warning issued late last week by the National Weather Service, which included cautions of hazardous driving conditions and a recommendation

to avoid travel, and flocked to the mountains over the three-day weekend.

The Placer County Sheriff took to Twitter throughout the weekend with photos and videos of bumper-tobumper traffic along Interstate 80. Sunday, the sheriff’s office posted a video of hundreds of vehicles at a standstill, with a plea to motorists to “please stay home and avoid traveling to the Sierra unless you absolutely have to.”

Tuesday, the Sierra Nevada’s snowpack stood at 146 percent of its historical average for this time of year, the second-largest percentage through Feb. 19 in at least a decade.

On Jan. 1, the snowpack was at 69 percent of average. The snowpack, which provides California’ with onethird of its water supply, now stands at 116 percent of its historical average for April 1, considered the end of the snow/water season by the state’s water managers.

The National Weather Service in Reno is forecasting more storms through the end of the month, including a system Thursday that could bring another 6 to 8 inches of snow.

“It does look like we’re going to stay in a fairly active pattern for the remainder of the month,” said Scott McGuire, a meteorologist with the weather service in Reno. “It’s been a busy winter for us, and for anybody involved with snow removal.

“Caltrans and the CHP. They’ve had their hands full, for sure.”