Meteorologists with the National Weather Service (NWS) are telling drivers in four states to slow down and be careful because snow, strong winds, and poor visibility are going to make mountainous places dangerous to travel through Monday evening.
Parts of California, Nevada, Washington, and Oregon have been warned about severe winter weather right away. The Greater Lake Tahoe area in California and Nevada, the West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada, and parts of the Cascades in Washington and Oregon are all affected. In these mountainous areas, snow and dangerous conditions are predicted.
Drivers are being asked to be extra careful, especially on major passes where snow could accumulate from a few inches to more than a foot. The warnings stress that the roads could become slippery, visibility could be poor, and journey times could be extended.
From Monday at noon until 10 p.m. PST, there will be a winter weather warning in the Greater Lake Tahoe area for elevations above 6,500 feet. Up to 6 inches of snow is possible, and winds that gust up to 45 mph are likely. On some hills in the area, like Donner, Echo, and Carson, the roads can be very slippery, and drivers may not be able to see more than half a mile ahead of them.
For places above 4,000 feet in Washington’s North Cascades, like Washington Pass, a winter weather warning will be in place from 6 p.m. Sunday to 1 p.m. Tuesday.
It’s going to snow between 4 and 16 inches, and the wind will gust up to 35 mph. People who are traveling on SR 20 and the Washington Pass should be ready for rough weather. The Okanogan County area in Washington will get up to 14 inches of snow above 4,000 feet from Sunday at 6 p.m. until Tuesday at 1 p.m.
The Siskiyou Mountains and the Southern Oregon Cascades are also getting ready for a lot of snow in southern Oregon. The total amount of snow expected above 5,000 feet is between 8 and 16 inches. The warning lasts from 4 a.m. Monday to 10 a.m. Tuesday and says that travel will be tough, especially on Monday morning and evening.
Also, early Saturday morning, nearly 40,000 people in Colorado were without power because of a winter storm that hit the state.
An online service called PowerOutage.us keeps track of power outages across the country. As of Saturday, about 25,000 people in Denver County were without power.
There have been 4,485, 4,400, and 3,630 power losses in Adams, Jefferson, and Arapahoe counties, which are all close to Denver.
This week, storm alerts were also sent out for Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, among other states. There could be up to 24 inches of snow in the mountains of Colorado. Cities like Matheson, Agate, Hugo, and Limon could get up to 20 inches of snow.
Source: Winter Weather Warnings in Effect Across 4 States, Drivers Urged to Slow Down for Safety
