Late February / Early March Storms Thread

[cl94]

While winter on the west coast is a little late this year, it has arrived with a vengeance just in time for March. A blizzard warning is up for the Central and Northern Sierra and parts of eastern Nevada, while other winter weather warnings cover nearly everything south of US 20 and west of the central Plains. Parts of the Sierra could see up to 12 feet of snow by next Monday, with the official median forecasts at Donner and Carson Passes north of 100 inches. Official forecast at Lake Tahoe is 5-6 feet. Starting this as a storm thread to post disruptions, damage, and other interesting road-related items from this storm cycle on the west coast.

At the time of posting, the following roads are closed due to this storm. This is on top of normal seasonal closures:

• I-80 between Drum Forebay and the Nevada line
• CA 70 through Feather River Canyon
• CA 49 between Downieville and CA 89
• Old US 40 over Donner Pass
• CA 89 around Emerald Bay
• CA 88 over the Carson Spur
• US 395 between Mammoth Lakes and Bridgeport
• Everything in Yosemite National Park
• NV 431 over Mount Rose Summit

[Max Rockatansky]

I pretty much missed all the bigger storms last week when I was in Mexico.  I could tell parts of 41 and even my yard ended up flooding.  Both would have required a substantial amount of rain to end up pooling.  I'm just hoping nothing happens to 178 this round since that is on the upcoming Bakersfield meet tour route.

Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park is also closed right now.

[cl94]

Add NV 28 to the closure list. Truck got stuck along the east shore of Lake Tahoe and blocked everything.

[pderocco]

Even 203 is closed between US-395 and the town, so if you're in Mammoth, you're stuck.

[cl94]

It's snowing decently hard in Reno right now. Hardest snow I have had this storm. Snowpack seems to be increasing rapidly with this and this may bring us up to median for the first time this season.

CA 267 and NV 207 closed this evening, on top of what has already closed. The CA 88 closure has expanded to include everything between Peddler Vista and CA 89. Basically, you're not getting anywhere in/around the Sierra until the snow stops and they have a chance to clear things. Additionally, US 50 has a jackknifed semi near Spooner Summit that may result in a closure.

Elsewhere in California, US 199 was closed earlier today due to an active slide. I expect a lot of slide activity around the west due to this storm and it may extend some long-term closures.

Possibly related to the storm, the Rio Vista Bridge carrying CA 12 over the Sacramento River was stuck in the raised position this afternoon. For some added fun, there's a working fire along CA 89 between Tahoe City and Truckee.

[gonealookin]

As usual Caltrans does not have any R3 chain restrictions posted around Tahoe.  If they ever did that this would be the time.  Very rarely you will see R3 on roads like SR 18 and SR 2 in the San Gabriels and the San Bernardinos.  In the Sierra we go straight from R2 to Road Closed.

[cl94]

Another day, more snow. US 50 has been flipping between open and closed since yesterday evening thanks to repeated crashes and avalanche issues. A natural avalanche occurred near Echo Summit this morning, in addition to the induced ones. No word on when I-80 will reopen, but Caltrans has had issues with snowblowers breaking down. There was a fire today in the lineup of trucks waiting for WB I-80 to reopen.

As far as snow totals, I've seen reports of up to 8 feet in the Sierra, with more coming through tomorrow AM. 0.5-2 feet in the western Nevada valleys. The Carson and Walker basins have hit median peak snowpack, while the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Truckee are getting there. Another storm is supposed to hit tomorrow and there may be yet another this weekend, which will push totals even higher.

As usual Caltrans does not have any R3 chain restrictions posted around Tahoe.  If they ever did that this would be the time.  Very rarely you will see R3 on roads like SR 18 and SR 2 in the San Gabriels and the San Bernardinos.  In the Sierra we go straight from R2 to Road Closed.

There was allegedly some R3 on the western half of SR 168 last year, but yeah. If there was ever a time when R3 was reasonable, now is it.

[Road Hog]

This is the time of year we gotta watch out in the Southern Plains too. This is the start of severe weather season and things could start to pop this week with that same California system moving east.

[Techknow]

Yeah these storms are nargly! I have a friend who started skiing and he is super committed, buying a season pass and committing to ski trips from the Bay Area to make the most of it. Ofc he couldn't go last weekend. I also started skiing too, and I went with him and others on a skiing trip in Feb 2-4 and we had to drive through a winter storm to get out. Having driven through snow for the first time I understand the chain controls and road closures a little better now.

[JayhawkCO]

I do find it kind of funny that CNN and other national news outlets are making a big deal about 70 miles of I-80 being closed. Roads close in Colorado/Wyoming/etc. all the time without any news coverage other than locally.

[Max Rockatansky]

I do find it kind of funny that CNN and other national news outlets are making a big deal about 70 miles of I-80 being closed. Roads close in Colorado/Wyoming/etc. all the time without any news coverage other than locally.

Something about Donner Pass must be eating them.

[cl94]

Well, this storm delivered and then some. NWS Sacramento posted this graphic of snowfall totals on the west slope:



That is 10 feet you're seeing in the area of Donner Pass. Haven't seen anything like this from NWS Reno yet for the east slope.

In terms of road status:

• I-80 reopened to cars this morning and trucks at 2 PM PST this afternoon, with R2 over the summit.
• SR 88 reopened over Carson Pass, but the Carson Spur remains closed, so the road is closed west of Kirkwood.
• US 395 reopened between Bishop and SR 167 this afternoon. SR 167 to SR 182 will remain closed until tomorrow at earliest as D9 works to clear Conway Summit

There was a fun scene on I-580 in the Washoe Valley today, as it and US 395A were closed for most of the morning due to ice, blowing snow, and lots of people crashing. Everything down there has since reopened.

I do find it kind of funny that CNN and other national news outlets are making a big deal about 70 miles of I-80 being closed. Roads close in Colorado/Wyoming/etc. all the time without any news coverage other than locally.

It often makes national news if 80 across Wyoming closes, but few high mountain roads are as important to the national economy/freight movement as I-80 in California just due to the amount of produce and imported goods that pass through there by road or rail.

[Road Hog]

The Pacific-draining California reservoirs are probably fine at this point, but will there be any benefit to the Colorado River Basin which needs it more?

[cl94]

Not really, and that's more due to water rights politics than anything at this point. In theory, if the California Water Project and LA Aqueduct systems are doing well, California could draw less from the Colorado, but water rights are "use it or lose it" and CA doesn't want to lose the right to future use of Colorado River. Similarly, the Wasatch Range being in good shape means Utah could theoretically pull less from the Colorado system to serve the area around Salt Lake, but they also don't want to lose their water rights. And this is a problem with the water rights system more than anything, as it encourages wasteful use to avoid losing rights to future use.

But to directly answer your question: the Colorado system did not get as much precip out of this and they still have a long way to go for it to be an "average" winter in terms of peak snowpack. Total precip is on the low side of average. And because the Colorado system is more overdrawn and did not have as much of a banner year in 2023 as the Sierra did, it needs more big years to break the cycle. The Sierra had 2-3x normal precip last winter. Colorado was 1.5x normal.

(personal opinions emphasized)

[heynow415]

Well, this storm delivered and then some. NWS Sacramento posted this graphic of snowfall totals on the west slope:

I do find it kind of funny that CNN and other national news outlets are making a big deal about 70 miles of I-80 being closed. Roads close in Colorado/Wyoming/etc. all the time without any news coverage other than locally.

It often makes national news if 80 across Wyoming closes, but few high mountain roads are as important to the national economy/freight movement as I-80 in California just due to the amount of produce and imported goods that pass through there by road or rail.

The other factor is that Donner Pass a choke point (no pun intended with its eating relationship).  Once east of the Sierras, there are generally other reasonable routes to detour on to if 80 is closed, such as US 50 through Nevada and/or I 70 to Denver.  The southern swing through Bakersfield is certainly an option but it is a significant addition in mileage.   

[Scott5114]

The Pacific-draining California reservoirs are probably fine at this point, but will there be any benefit to the Colorado River Basin which needs it more?

The Colorado Basin is currently at slightly-above-average snowpack according to this USDA map.

[SSR_317]

Something about Donner Pass must be eating them.

Groan (but nice zinger)!

But Max, you of all people should know that Interstate 80 does NOT go over Donner Pass, but rather reaches its highest California elevation about 2 miles to the northwest at Euer Summit (which itself is mislabeled by CalTrans as "Donner Summit"). This is where the Rest Areas are located on the freeway, and where it crests the Sierra Nevada (at elevation 7239 feet westbound and 7227 feet eastbound), a full 183 feet higher (WB) than the mountain pass along Donner Pass Road (old U.S. 40) to the southeast. When I-80 was built in the early-mid 1960s, the Euer Summit alignment was chosen because it was wider and had gentler approaches, allowing the new road to conform to Interstate Highway standards for mountainous terrain. This path also facilitated easier and less costly construction of the route in addition to having maintenance and operational advantages over the past 50-plus years.

[pderocco]

But Max, you of all people should know that Interstate 80 does NOT go over Donner Pass, but rather reaches its highest California elevation about 2 miles to the northwest at Euer Summit (which itself is mislabeled by CalTrans as "Donner Summit"). This is where the Rest Areas are located on the freeway, and where it crests the Sierra Nevada (at elevation 7239 feet westbound and 7227 feet eastbound), a full 183 feet higher (WB) than the mountain pass along Donner Pass Road (old U.S. 40) to the southeast. When I-80 was built in the early-mid 1960s, the Euer Summit alignment was chosen because it was wider and had gentler approaches, allowing the new road to conform to Interstate Highway standards for mountainous terrain. This path also facilitated easier and less costly construction of the route in addition to having maintenance and operational advantages over the past 50-plus years.

The state has certainly committed to the Donner name, applying it to the I-80 rest areas and the adjacent snopark. That's probably because nobody has heard of Euer Saddle (as USGS calls it). In fact, nobody knows how to pronounce Euer. Or spell it if they hear it.

[Max Rockatansky]

But Max, you of all people should know that Interstate 80 does NOT go over Donner Pass, but rather reaches its highest California elevation about 2 miles to the northwest at Euer Summit (which itself is mislabeled by CalTrans as "Donner Summit"). This is where the Rest Areas are located on the freeway, and where it crests the Sierra Nevada (at elevation 7239 feet westbound and 7227 feet eastbound), a full 183 feet higher (WB) than the mountain pass along Donner Pass Road (old U.S. 40) to the southeast. When I-80 was built in the early-mid 1960s, the Euer Summit alignment was chosen because it was wider and had gentler approaches, allowing the new road to conform to Interstate Highway standards for mountainous terrain. This path also facilitated easier and less costly construction of the route in addition to having maintenance and operational advantages over the past 50-plus years.

The state has certainly committed to the Donner name, applying it to the I-80 rest areas and the adjacent snopark. That's probably because nobody has heard of Euer Saddle (as USGS calls it). In fact, nobody knows how to pronounce Euer. Or spell it if they hear it.

Interestingly the area does have several know passes which were used by pioneers west of Donner Lake.  Roller Pass is probably the most well known:

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/a-hike-to-roller-pass-on-the-california-trail.htm

There is also Coldsteam Pass which has a more murky history:

https://donsnotes.com/tahoe/donner_routes.html