San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Another wave of snow hits buried Sierra
Another snowstorm is expected to blanket the Sierra this weekend, causing significant delays for drivers heading to the Lake Tahoe area for the Presidents Day holiday, officials said.
The heavy storm system that buried the Tahoe region under snow also left some scars on the Bay Area. Among other disruptions, Marin County is trying to fix a days-long levee breach near Highway 37 that has closed the roadway. On Saturday, Marin declared a local state of emergency so it can apply for state and federal money to help pay to repair the storm damage.
As much as 3 feet of snow has fallen at some Tahoe-area ski resorts since Friday morning and more is in store, said Shane Snyder, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
“There is one more wave,” Snyder said. “Until we can get these waves out of here, it’s just going to keep going up there.”
The weekend’s final burst is expected to bring up to 2 feet of snow to the highest elevations and as much as 12 inches at lake level.
Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort recorded more than 3 feet of snow over the 24 hours ending Saturday morning, while June Mountain Ski Area and Homewood Mountain Resort received more than 2 feet of snow by early Saturday. Alpine Meadows and Heavenly received a little less than 2.5 feet of snow.
Interstate 80 was shut down for nearly a day, from Thursday evening until 6 p.m. Friday, due to whiteout conditions caused by high winds and blowing snow.
On Saturday afternoon, Caltrans officials temporarily stopped traffic heading eastbound on I-80 beginning in Colfax because many vehicles spun out of control on the snowy roadway in high elevations. Crews reopened the road around 5 p.m., but traffic was backed up for several miles from residual delays from the closure, Caltrans officials said. Many snowboarders and skiers heading to the mountains for the long weekend were forced to stop in small towns like Pollock Pines (El Dorado County), nearly 60 miles away from Lake Tahoe.
Many people parked along the town’s main streets, hoping traffic would eventually clear. Others slept in their cars at the Safeway parking lot, said Barbara Arenz, a resident of Pollock Pines.
“The storms have been worse this year,” Arenz said. “I can’t remember the last time we got this much snow.
“I know people want to go and have their vacations and they plan on it, but sometimes you need to have a Plan B, especially if you’re expecting bad weather,” Arenz added. The message for weekend travelers was to prepare for lengthy delays and heavy traffic.
As of Saturday afternoon, chain controls were required for drivers, but truckers were being turned around at Applegate and the Nevada state line. Chains were required Saturday for about 50 miles on Highway 50, between Placerville and Meyers (El Dorado County), Caltrans said.
Caltrans officials temporarily stopped traffic at least twice on Highway 50 in both directions from Echo Summit to Meyers due to crews doing avalanche control work.
“If you set out toward Tahoe (Saturday), expect it can take you 10 to 15 hours, or you may never ever get there,” said Officer Andrew Brown, a California Highway Patrol spokesman. “We can’t predict the weather, and that’s what we are up against.”
Getting around road closures is not an option in the “atrocious conditions,” he said. “There is no shortcut. There is no cheating around it. You can’t go, sorry,” Brown added.
In the past week, some ski resorts have received close to 10 feet of snow, including Sierra-at-Tahoe, Snyder said. Northstar and Heavenly received more than 9 feet of snow.
By Sunday morning, snowfall should turn lighter and there will be fewer significant accumulations, Snyder said.
On Saturday, all lanes of Highway 37 between Highway 101 and Atherton Avenue in Novato were closed as crews did emergency repairs on a broken levee, the CHP said. A temporary dam is being created to stop the flow of water in an attempt to reopen Highway 37, said state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg.
“A massive pumping operation will kick off on Tuesday that will need to remove approx. 2,000 acre-feet of water,” McGuire said on Twitter.
All the lanes are expected to be closed this weekend, and westbound lanes should remain closed for at least another week.
A flood warning for the Russian River at Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville was canceled after the river dropped below flood stage.
From Friday to Saturday afternoon, San Francisco, Santa Rosa and San Jose each received close to a half inch of rain, while Oakland received less than a quarter inch.
Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani