Winter wallops Sierra with one-two punch

Sandra Chereb

Monday, Feb. 8, 1999 | 2:47 a.m.

RENO, Nev. -- Winter walloped the Sierra Nevada with sustained fury on Monday, bringing more heavy snow and gusting winds in an assault that left up to 4 feet of snow over the weekend.

"We're waiting for the final shot from this low pressure system later tonight and tomorrow," said Roger Lamoni, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Reno. "That's the colder portion that could very well bring snow to Reno proper."

A winter storm warning remained in effect Tuesday for the Lake Tahoe region, where additional snow accumulations of up to 4 feet accompanied by winds gusting to 80 mph over the ridgetops were anticipated above the 7,000-foot level.

Additional accumulations of more than a foot were predicted for below 7,000 feet.

Chains or snow tires were required Monday on all trans-Sierra highways, including Interstate 80 over Donner Summit, U.S. 50 over Echo Summit, and the Mount Rose Highway southwest of Reno.

A winter storm watch was posted for the Reno-Carson City area for Monday night into Tuesday. The weather service said 3-6 inches could fall above 5,000 feet and 1-3 inches on the valley floors by morning as cold air behind the storm front moved into the region.

"This is the wettest storm of the season so far," Lamoni said.

While the question of whether the Sierra would experience a fifth straight wet winter remains to be seen, the latest barrage of flakes has been a considerable boost to the snowpack.

"It's helping a lot," said Weather Service hydrologist Gary Barbato. "Everything's above average."

On Feb. 1, the snowpack in the Truckee River watershed was 127 percent of average. Barbato said data from automated sensors showed the snowpack as of Monday at 134 percent.

In the Tahoe Basin, the increase was even greater, jumping from 116 percent to 147 percent of average.

The storm was blamed for one death on Saturday that occurred when a group of University of California, Berkeley students set out on a hiking and sledding expedition and were trapped in an avalanche near Lake Mary.

Malcolm Russell Hart, 21, of Dover, N.H., died of a heart attack Sunday morning at Tahoe Forest Hospital in Truckee, Calif.

The three other students were treated for hypothermia and released Sunday afternoon.

The wet, heavy snow atop of existing snowpack makes for dangerous avalanche conditions, experts warned.

"Whenever this kind of a wet storm comes in, it's really best for people to stay out of the back country," Lamoni said. "A few days after the storm, the snow will pack down some and be a lot more stable. It's just a matter of giving it some time."