Amid summer of never-ending heat, California gets dusting of snow
This summer has delivered heat wave after heat wave for much of the nation, but on Saturday it got contrarian and delivered a trace amount of snow to California mountains.
This summer has delivered heat wave after heat wave for much of the nation, but on Saturday it got contrarian and delivered a trace amount of snow to California mountains.
Snow was measured in small amounts in and around Lake Tahoe on Saturday, with National Weather Service precipitation data showing accumulations of 0.15 inches north of Stanislaus National Forest to 0.03 inches north in the Tahoe National Forest.
It's unlikely to stick around, but it provided for a day of winter wonderland scenery in a country cooked by relentless heat.
The day in the Sierra Nevada Mountains started out rainy as wet roads were blamed for a vehicle collision on Interstate 80 that prompted the temporary closure of westbound lanes, according to the California Department of Transportation. The interstate runs through the Tahoe National Forest en route to the San Francisco Bay Area.
A coating of snow is seen below ski lifts at Sugarbowl Ski Resort Saturday in Donner Summit, Calif.Brooke Hess-Homeier / APAbout 140 miles to the north, the annual Burning Man festival faced a second year of weather serious enough to prompt organizers to close the event's main gate Saturday morning to those arriving by vehicle ahead of Sunday's first day of festivities. Attendees were urged to delay their arrivals so as not to clog up roadways leading to the venue in the Black Rock Desert of northern Nevada, though the gate was opened later Saturday afternoon.
Rating: 5