California faces week of storms, likely travel troubles

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California is facing a stormy holiday week, with heavy mountain snowfall and widespread rain elsewhere, forecasters said Monday.

Successive waves of precipitation moving into Northern California from Tuesday through Sunday afternoon will coat parts of the Sierra Nevada with 1 to 5 feet of snow and possibly up to 8 feet at some higher elevations, the National Weather Service said.

Forecasters said the storms will bring potential for significant low-elevation snow, including over Interstate 5 north of Redding, an area where last week’s storms shut down the highway for nearly 24 hours.

Little break in snowfall is expected after Tuesday, and major travel difficulties are anticipated the mountains, the weather service said.