Heavy Snow in West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada, California

On January 3rd, Caltrans District 3 measured 10 inches of snow at Kingvale, Castle Peak, and Soda Springs. Sierra ski resorts measured 5 to 13 inches of snow. UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow lab measured 12.8 inches of snow. 5 to 14 inches of snow were estimated from automatic CDEC sensors. The National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center estimated snow amounts of 6 to 18 inches. Traffic was held in the Sierra on Interstate 80 and US Highway 50 for a total of 5 hours and 1 hour respectively due to multiple spinouts from winter weather conditions. Periods of chain restrictions were in place through the day.

A storm system in early January brought along widespread rain, heavy mountain snow, gusty winds, thunderstorms, and a tornado to interior Northern California on January 3rd. Chain restrictions and periods of road closures were observed by Sierra mountain passes including US Highway 50 and Interstate 80. The tornado touched down briefly in a rural, unpopulated area of Tehama County and no damage or injuries occurred, and was rated an EF-U.