Photos: Monster California blizzard leaves epic scenes of towns buried in feet of snow
The blizzard, which brought 5-10 feet of snow to the Sierra Nevada, left incredible scenes of snow piled up above cars and drifts reaching up to rooftops.
Scenes from California's Sierra Nevada where 6-10 feet of snow fell amid days-long blizzard
Photos show the aftermath of a blizzard that dumped as much as 10 feet of snow across the Sierra Nevada over the weekend leaving residents to begin digging out.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – A monster blizzard dumped several feet of snow across California’s Sierra Nevada over several days to kick off the start of March, leaving incredible scenes of snow piled up above cars and drifts reaching up to rooftops.
The snow began on Thursday, Feb. 29, and fell at rates of 2-4 inches per hour or more as ferocious winds gusted as high as 60-80 mph around Lake Tahoe and well over 100 mph on the nearby mountain peaks.
Cars buried under three feet of snow in California
A woman in South Lake Tahoe had a tough time even finding her car after the weekend blizzard dropped feet of snow across California mountains. Sugar Bowl Ski Resort saw more than 10 feet of snow since Friday.
CALIFORNIA'S CRIPPLING BLIZZARD BRINGS 10 FEET OF SNOW, 190 MPH WIND TO SIERRA NEVADA
An anemometer atop Palisades ski resort at Lake Tahoe clocked a gust of 190 mph.
Other peak gusts along the peaks reached 184 mph at Ward Mountain and 170 mph at Mammoth Mountain.
Top wind gusts in California ad Nevada during the blizzard.
(FOX Weather)
New snow totals reached just over 5 feet around South Lake Tahoe, while 8 feet of snow fell at Palisades Tahoe ski resort.
Soda Springs, California, measured 116 inches of snow – just under 10 feet, while the Sugar Bowl ski resort managed to cross the 10-foot mark with 126 inches of new snow.
At Soda Springs’ Woodward Tahoe, you could barely find the front door to the Woodward Bunker under several feet of snow:
SODA SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 4: A person uses a snowblower at Boreal Mountain Resort, currently shuttered due to the snowstorm, following a massive snowstorm in the Sierra Nevada mountains on March 4, 2024, at Soda Springs, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
Some unlucky drivers who had parked in outdoor lots before the storm would barely find the roof:
SODA SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 4: Vehicles are covered in snow at Boreal Mountain Resort, currently shuttered due to the storm, following a massive snowstorm in the Sierra Nevada mountains on March 4, 2024, near Soda Springs, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
WATCH: LIGHTNING STRIKES NEAR SKIES AS WINTER STORM PUMMELS WEST
It would take quite a bit of digging out, and that doesn’t even account for creating a reasonable pathway to drive out of the snow-bound lot:
SODA SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 4: Caden Drefs helps dig a friend's car out at Boreal Mountain Resort, currently shuttered due to the storm, following a massive snowstorm in the Sierra Nevada mountains on March 4, 2024, in Soda Springs, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
(Mario Tama / Getty Images)
And even if you made it to the roads, travel was treacherous. In some cases, snow drifts were piled up far under highway overpasses.
SODA SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 4: Snow is piled up under I-80 following a massive snowstorm in the Sierra Nevada mountains on March 4, 2024, near Soda Springs, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
(Mario Tama / Getty Images)
Others who had just nestled inside were surprised to see snow piled up feet high along outside windows:
TRUCKEE, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 3: A patron looks out at snow drifts at the Jax At The Tracks diner in downtown Truckee, Calif., on Sunday, March 3, 2024.
(Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times)
Plenty of skiers and snowboarders did manage to get to the slopes to take advantage of the epic powder:
CALIFORNIA, USA - MARCH 4: Skiers flock Palisades Tahoe ski resort in Olympic Valley, California, United States on March 4, 2024, as blizzard warning issued for California's Sierra Nevada.
(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu / Getty Images)
And while the snow has made for logistical headaches and for sure some sore backs and muscles for those clearing the way, the payoff will come in the summer as water managers rejoiced at how the storm has helped bring California’s snowpack back to average conditions after kicking off 2024 significantly below average.