Late Spring Storms Dumps on the Sierra

[ERIC]

Late Spring Storms Dumps on the Sierra



Posted: Saturday, 27 May 2006 3:47PM
KCBS Bay Area

TRUCKEE, CA (KCBS) -- Summer may be just around the corner but tell that to the high Sierra where five inches of snow fell overnight Friday.

A fast moving storm dumped the snow near Reno, Nevada which prompted chain controls Saturday morning on the major highways through the Sierra Nevada. The controls on I-80 and Highway-50 were later lifted.

"People weren't prepared for this," said CHP Officer Shawn Mann in Truckee.

Die-hard skiers and snowboarders were pretty pleased because the last bit of now allowed them to get on the slopes perhaps for one of the last times of the season.

This has been a heavy snowfall year with Squaw Valley receiving 52-feet of snow at its highest elevation, 15 feet above normal.

Squaw and Mammoth are the only two ski resorts still open.

The Forest Service says campgrounds above 5,500 feet remain closed.

The Sierra snow pack registered 180-percent of normal in April.