Heavy Snow — West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada, California

2025-03-11 to 2025-03-13 · West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada, California

Event narrative

Caltrans District 3 measured 1 to 3 feet of snow along Interstate 80 above 5000 feet. Ski resorts measured snow amounts of 1 to over 3 feet above 6000 feet. UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab measured 32.5 inches over the period. Traffic was turned on Interstate 80 for a period due to heavy snow and spinouts.

Wider weather episode

From March 11th through 13th a winter storm brought heavy mountain snow, strong southerly winds and moderate to heavy rain to interior northern California. Snow amounts of 1 to over 3 feet were observed in the mountains. Roadway flooding was observed in the Valley and foothills, with downed trees and powerlines from strong southerly winds. On March 12th a line of non-severe storms moved through portions of the Sacramento Valley producing wind gusts over 50 mph. This resulted in a large oak tree to fall and damage an apartment building in Sacramento County. As the line of storms moved through the foothills, numerous trees and powerlines came down leading to power outages in the area. Traffic was being turned on Interstate 80 at Alta for a period due to spinouts and heavy snow.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1238658. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.