High avalanche danger, winds topping 100 mph as blizzard slams Tahoe, Mammoth, Sierra Nevada
A treacherous, life-threatening blizzard was strengthening over California’s mightiest mountain range Friday, already bringing 100- to 110-mph gusts at the higher elevations, with conditions expected to deteriorate dramatically by the evening.
A gust of 145 mph was recorded Thursday night at Palisades Tahoe at an elevation of 8,700 feet above sea level.
Officials Friday warned of high avalanche danger through Sunday in the Central Sierra slopes and Lake Tahoe.
Up to 12 feet of snow could fall on the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada through Sunday, the National Weather Service office in Sacramento said. Other areas with an elevation of 5,000 feet above sea level could get 5 to 10 feet of snow.
Yosemite National Park said it was closing through at least noon Sunday because of the storm. “Visitors currently in the park should leave as soon as possible, and no later than noon” on Friday, the park said. Several feet of snow is expected at Yosemite.
“Travel should be restricted to emergencies only,” the weather service office in Hanford said.
The storm is particularly strong and cold, as it’s moving in from the Pacific Northwest, and “it’s a really deep area of low pressure. It has a lot of cold air ingested into
