Snow, wind make for hazardous driving in northern Nevada

Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2003 | 1:05 a.m.

Wind-whipped snow snarled traffic Monday across northern Nevada from California to Utah while ski resorts enjoyed another hefty layer of powder.

Chains were mandatory in the Sierra on Interstate 80 and U.S. 50 over Donner and Echo summits, and chains or snow tires were required on all other mountain highways. Highway 50 was closed at times for avalanche control as were California 88 and 89.

Chains or snow tires were needed on I-80 and U.S. 50 in north-central and eastern Nevada and on most other highways east of Reno and Carson City to the Utah line.

Emigrant Pass, on I-80 west of Carlin, recorded 6 inches of snow in 12 hours, and 4 inches fell in Battle Mountain, 3.8 inches in Elko and 2.7 inches in Winnemucca.

Winds gusting to 60 mph added to the hazardous driving conditions at higher elevations.

The bulk of the storm stalled on the California side of the Sierra, with just enough snow pushing over the mountains to slicken highways, the National Weather Service said.

A winter storm warning remained in effect for the Sierra, where up to a foot more of snow was expected overnight.

Forecasters were calling for a chance of rain or snow into the weekend.

The Desert Research Institute took advantage of the storm to fire up cloud-seeding generators in the Tuscarora area and the Ruby Mountains. Winds were too strong to allow seeding in the Walker or Tahoe basins, spokesman John Doherty said.

With snow still falling on Monday, the snow pack matched last year's 130 percent of average at Echo Summit off Highway 50. Combined with last week's storm, Sierra ski resorts were reporting up to 10 feet of snow at the higher elevations.

"The storm was a great present. I couldn't have asked for anything better than that," said Ed Youmans, Diamond Peak ski resort manager at Incline Village.

He said almost 2,300 lift tickets were sold Friday, hundreds more than on the same day last year.

"Conditions are beautiful," he said. "It's that crisp, dry powder uncharacteristic for Tahoe. The snow has that Styrofoam consistency because the temperatures have been so cold.

"We should be running at full capacity all week. If we get good snow, we will even beat out President's Week."