Storm dumps 17+ inches of snow in Big Bear
BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. - More than 17 inches of snow has blanketed Big Bear over just the last two days in what officials are calling one of the biggest storms of the season.
All the fresh powder came just in time for one of the biggest ski weekends of the year.
Big Bear officials said between 6 and 8 inches of snow fell overnight and continues to dump on the resort Monday, bumping up the total season snowfall to a whopping 57 inches.
All trails at the resort are currently open.
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The ninth atmospheric river in a three-week series of major winter storms powered through the state Monday, leaving mountain driving dangerous for travelers.
Heavy snow fell across the Sierra Nevada and the National Weather Service discouraged travel. Interstate 80, a key highway from the San Francisco Bay Area to Lake Tahoe ski resorts, reopened with chain requirements after periodic weekend closures because of whiteout conditions.
"If you must travel, be prepared for dangerous travel conditions, significant travel delays and road closures," the weather service office in Sacramento said on Twitter.
The University of California Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab tweeted Monday morning that it had recorded 49.6 inches of new snow since Friday.
A backcountry avalanche warning was issued for the central Sierra, including the greater Tahoe area.
A barrage of atmospheric river storms has dumped rain and snow on California since late December, cutting power to thousands, swamping roads, toppling trees, unleashing debris flows and triggering landslides. Monday’s system was relatively weak compared with earlier storms, but flooding and mudslide risks remained because the state was so saturated, forecasters said.
Forecasters were keeping their eyes on a storm forming in the Pacific to see if it gains enough strength to become the state’s 10th atmospheric river of the season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.