A record-breaking single-day snowfall occurred in the Sierra Nevada on Sunday, as a spring storm soaked the San Francisco Bay area and caused the closure of mountain highways in Northern California.
By Sunday morning, the wet weather system had mostly departed from the state. However, officials cautioned that the roads would still be slippery due to the heavy snowfall of approximately two feet (60 centimeters) in certain parts of the Sierra.
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“Who would have predicted that the snowiest day of the 2023/2024 season would occur in May? The University of California, Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab posed this question on the social platform X, highlighting the unusual weather phenomenon.”
According to the lab, Sunday’s snowfall of 26.4 inches (67 centimeters) surpassed the previous second snowiest day of the season, March 3rd, by 2.6 inches (6.6 centimeters).
Treacherous driving conditions caused the closure of multiple highways near Lake Tahoe on Saturday. This included the closure of Interstate 80 over the Donner Summit.
Parts of the Bay Area experienced flooding due to heavy rainfall and low temperatures. The National Weather Service issued flood advisories for these areas, as up to an inch (2.5 centimeters) of rain fell. In addition, temperatures dropped to the low 40s (around 5 degrees Celsius). Strong winds were also reported near San Francisco, with gusts reaching 40 mph (64 kph) on Saturday.
Southern California experienced light rain and gusty winds during the storm.
The week was predicted to bring drier and warmer weather conditions.
