A series of winter storms is forecast to dump up to eight feet of snow in California this week. And for residents of low-lying areas that don’t often see snow, this week has turned out to be an exception. Snow levels, the elevation where rain turns to snow, will be lower in many places across the state.
“Snowfall in the Sierra, Cascades, and Rockies will be measured in feet and yards,” said Weather Trader meteorologist Ryan Maue in an e-mail to USA TODAY.
Sacramento meteorologist Katrina Hand reports that “slick and snow-covered roads are already being observed down to around 3,500-4,500 feet this morning. By Wednesday morning, it’s likely the Sacramento Valley could see minor snow accumulations.”
Here’s how much snow has fallen in California in the last 48 hours
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Preliminary data as of 6 a.m. local time Feb. 17 shows 33 inches of snow at Donner Peak over the last 48 hours with 27 inches falling in the past day.
About 4 to 8 feet of snow is expected in the Sierra by Wednesday, Feb. 18, with the heaviest precipitation falling from Monday night through Tuesday, according to AccuWeather.
Rainfall began on Sunday, Feb. 15 for large portions of the state. Many areas have already seen snow as the storms approached off the coast. Thousands lost power in parts of El Dorado and Calaveras counties in California on Monday night.
Snow is expected to accumulate above 3,000 feet in the Santa Lucia Mountains and the mountains of San Benito County, the National Weather Service office in San Francisco said.
How this year’s snowfall compares with years past in Lake Tahoe region
For many, the snowfall is welcomed. The Sierra Tahoe region is well below median snowfall levels for this time of year. “This year’s key marker has been warmth – it has been warmer than normal, so we’ve seen a lot of rain instead of snow and we’ve seen premature melt as well,” said Andrew Schwartz, Director of the Central Sierra Snow Lab for the University of California, Berkeley. “These storms should move the needle quite a bit,” said Schwartz. Though the snow is drier, storms should move the snow water equivalent (SWW) to within 65-76% of the median to-date, he added.
Soaking rainfall across California
“It will be a wet week across California as a series of storm systems slam into the state. Multiple inches of rain will fall across much of the state, with several feet of snow expected in the Sierra,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Kai Kerkow said on their website.
Search USA TODAY’s snowfall map
Contributing: Doyle Rice and Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY
