Sierra dumps heavy spring snow

A late April storm buried parts of the Sierra Nevada in more than 3.5 feet of snow and briefly shut Interstate 80. (apnews.com) In Tahoe, Palisades Tahoe and Kirkwood Mountain Resort each reported roughly 3.5 feet of new snow by Sunday, April 12. OpenSnow forecaster Bryan Allegretto said the storm pushed April snowfall to about 70 inches so far. (tahoedailytribune.com) The same storm hit California’s eastern Sierra, where Mammoth Mountain said more than two feet fell over three days. The resort extended skiing and snowboarding operations after the burst of fresh coverage. (cbs8.com) The turnaround came fast. Just weeks earlier, a March heat wave had melted much of California’s mountain snow and pushed many ski areas toward spring shutdowns. (apnews.com) California’s snowpack is not just a ski-season number. On April 1, snow in the Sierra stood at 18% of average at a reading site near Lake Tahoe, and the Sierra snowpack typically supplies about one-third of the state’s water. (kmph.com) The storm also showed how quickly Sierra travel can flip in April. California highway officials reported Interstate 80 restrictions in the Northern California and Sierra Nevada corridor after the weekend snow, following the temporary closure cited by state and national reports. (roads.dot.ca.gov) At Mammoth, the extension builds on plans the resort had already posted for its “Second Season,” with Canyon Lodge scheduled to close after April 19 and lift access shifting to Main Lodge on April 20. The latest snow gave that spring setup a fresh base. (mammothmountain.com) Forecasters said more weather was still on the horizon after the weekend dump. For Sierra resorts and road crews, that meant winter work was still not done by mid-April. (tahoedailytribune.com)