Blizzard Dumps 10 Feet of Snow in Parts of Sierra Nevada; Another Storm on Its Way

A person uses skis downtown as snow continues to fall during a powerful multiple day winter storm in the Sierra Nevada mountains, in Truckee, Calif., on March 3, 2024. Mario Tama/Getty Images

As road crews and residents in the California mountain regions were shoveling themselves out of several feet of new snow from a rare blizzard that blew through the state over the weekend, weather officials warned another winter storm was on the way.

“This one is looking a lot weaker than the weekend blizzard, thankfully,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Nathan Rick told California Insider. “Even though the storm itself is lower impact, the overall impacts could be compounded from this weekend.”

The weather service issued a winter storm warning in the Sacramento region from 10 a.m. Monday to 4 a.m. Wednesday. Forecasters say another six to 12 inches of snow could fall, with the heaviest snowfall hitting north of I-80.

Wind gusts up to 45. Miles per hour are also expected.

Travel in the mountain region is again highly discouraged until the storm passes, the weather service reported.

The blizzard that started Feb. 28 in some areas of the state dumped more than 10 feet of snow near Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada in four days, weather officials reported March 4.

A home is partially covered in snow following a massive snowstorm in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Soda Springs, Calif., on March 4, 2024. Mario Tama/Getty Images

The University of California at Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab reported Monday the Sierra Nevada mountain range had received above-average precipitation and snowfall for the date after getting more than 6 feet of snow during the storm.

The storm also stranded motorists and semi-trucks along a stretch of Interstate 80 into Lake Tahoe beginning Friday night. The interstate reopened to passenger vehicles Monday morning and was expected to reopen for trucks later in the afternoon.

California authorities shut down 100 miles of I-80 Friday—between Colfax and the Nevada State line--as the blizzard settled in over the Sierra Nevada. Residents were urged to take shelter and stay off the roads.

An Interstate 80 (I-80) entrance is covered in snow during a powerful multiple day winter storm in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Truckee, Calif., on March 3, 2024. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Despite the warnings, the California Highway Patrol closed the freeway Friday after several cars spun out, and because of high winds and low visibility.

U.S. 395 was also closed during the blizzard but reopened Monday from Bishop to Mammoth Lakes. The highway remained closed between Mammoth Lakes and Bridgeport while the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) crews worked to clear snow off the roadway, the CHP reported on X.

More than a dozen ski resorts around Lake Tahoe were closed during the blizzard, and a tornado was confirmed in Madera County Friday afternoon.

Snow falls downtown, north of Lake Tahoe, during a powerful multiple day winter storm in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Truckee, Calif., on March 2, 2024. Mario Tama/Getty Images

The National Weather Service posted a video on X of the brief tornado forming over the Central California county located north of Fresno and includes parts of Yosemite National Park and Mammoth Lakes. Visitors to Yosemite National Park were told to leave. The tornado caused some damage to an elementary school, according to the National Weather Service.

Another storm system could potentially move into Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties between late Tuesday and last until Thursday, the National Weather Service said in X.