2024-03-02 12:57:19
A severe winter storm has brought heavy snowfall to the US state of California. The weather service issued a blizzard warning for mountainous communities in the Sierra Nevada, where up to 10 feet of snow was expected in some places. People had to prepare for life-threatening conditions, it was said on Friday evening (local time). “Travel should be limited to emergencies only.”
In the USA, blizzards are called violent snowstorms with sharp drops in temperature. In the Palisades Tahoe winter sports area, where the 1960 Winter Olympics were held, wind gusts of up to 230 kilometers per hour were measured, according to media reports. Several ski resorts would have had to close, also because of the high risk of avalanches.
In addition, Interstate 80, one of the country’s most important highways, was closed over a total length of around 160 kilometers due to snow and icy conditions. The weather service and highway police warned of so-called whiteout conditions, in which drivers can lose orientation due to extremely limited visibility.
Several schools remained closed on Friday. The storm also caused power outages. Around 40,000 households in the region are without electricity, according to the website Poweroutage.us. In view of the storm, Yosemite National Park, which is popular with tourists, also closed to visitors until further notice. The winter storm might become one of the most severe since the 1970s, it said.
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