Blizzard conditions close Yosemite National Park, ski resort operations

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. - Yosemite National Park closed at midnight Thursday because of a major winter storm that is expected to cause blizzard conditions.

The park will remain closed through Sunday at noon, or possibly later, officials said.

Visitors who were staying in the park were told to leave as soon as possible and no later than Friday at noon.

That's because the National Weather Service is forecasting several feet of snow – up to 12 feet in some areas-- through the park. Badger Pass may receive more than seven feet, and high winds are also expected through the weekend.

The blizzard originated from the Gulf of Alaska and is expected to make road travel treacherous and perhaps even impossible. 

Live weather cameras from Lake Tahoe area

Early Friday morning, Caltrans crews were out making sure that drivers had chains at Baxter in Placer County. 

"Usually, the folks who are unprepared, they're the ones having a hard time," said Antonio Orozco, a gas station manager at Blue Canyon near Emigrant Gap. "They get warned, but they still come up. A lot of truckers come up, sitting not wanting to do anything because they want to wait until the storm is over. They don't realize it'll be three days, then they get buried out there.

Several ski resorts in the Tahoe area planned to alter their operations on Friday because of the storm, too.  

Boreal ski resort in Soda Springs announced it would be closed Friday. And The Alpine side of the resort is scheduled to be closed on Friday, while limited operations are scheduled for the Palisades side. 

"Yeah this is going to be a big one for sure," Patrick Lacey of Palisades Tahoe said on Thursday. "We do ask for your patience, especially on the upper mountain lifts. This is for your safety. This is just coming all at once."

But once the snow passes, Lacey says the additional snowfall will provide prime conditions.

 "I mean this could really, really impact the season, and extend our season as well," he said. 

At Heavenly Mountain Resort, spokesperson Cole Zimmerman said they were preparing for the "big one." 

The high winds and heavy snow prompted the resort to shut down its gondola and upper mountain lifts on Friday. 

"We’re just taking this day by day with safety in mind," said Zimmerman. "And the last thing we have to look at frankly is road conditions, if it’s safe for people to get to our mountain."

But once the storm passes, Zimmerman said, "it will be great for those powder hounds."

In the Bay Area, heavy rains, cold temperatures and high wind gusts were predicted for Friday and Saturday.

These wet weather conditions also forced the closure of the Oakland Zoo on Friday. 

KTVU's Zak Sos contributed to this report.