Sierra motorists slowed by up to 2 1/2 feet of new snow

Martin Griffith

Sunday, Feb. 27, 2000 | 3:47 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - Motorists faced major delays getting over Sierra passes Sunday as another powerful storm dumped up to 2 1/2 feet of snow in the Lake Tahoe area.

Chains were mandatory Sunday on all three major trans-Sierra passes: Interstate 80 over Donner Summit, U.S. Highway 50 over Echo Summit and Highway 88 over Carson Pass.

In addition, a section of Highway 88 west of Kirkwood, Calif., was closed Sunday to allow crews to conduct avalanche control activities.

"It was a very decent storm and we have more coming," said National Weather Service forecaster Danny Mercer. "It looks like the unsettled weather pattern will continue for at least the next 10 days."

No major weather-related accidents were reported, but some minor accidents temporarily shut down I-80's westbound lanes at Blue Canyon west of the summit.

Motorists faced delays of up to 2 1/2 hours as bumper-to-bumper traffic was reported on both I-80 and Highway 50, Caltrans officials said.

By early Sunday morning, the latest storm had pushed Tahoe's snowpack to 102 percent of normal for the season.

The storm left 2 feet of new snow at the Kirkwood ski resort south of Tahoe and 2 1/2 feet at Alpine Meadows north of Tahoe. Towns around Tahoe got from 9 to 12 inches of new snow.

A recent string of storms will ensure that Squaw Valley north of Tahoe stays open until its traditional May 31 closing date, said spokeswoman Katja Dahl.

Squaw and other Tahoe resorts are coming off a strong Presidents Day weekend, their busiest of the season.

"We couldn't ask for better conditions right now, especially considering the slow start (to winter)," Dahl said.

"We've caught up and things are definitely looking good. It looks like it should be a very strong spring."

Tahoe lodging representatives reported few weekend vacancies through March.

The weather service was calling for a break in the weather Monday before the arrival of another storm Tuesday night.

"It doesn't look like the next storm will be as strong, but behind that one will be another storm Thursday," Mercer said. "The 10-day outlook calls for a storm every two or three days."

Water watchers said the recent storms have dramatically eased summer water concerns and improved the outlook for farmers.