See where and how much snow fell in California - Washington Post - The Washington Post

See where and how much snow fell in California - Washington Post
(Mario Tama/Getty Images) SCROLL DOWN TO CONTINUE

California’s diverse landscape of beaches, valleys, foothills and mountains has been transformed into a winter wonderland by a spectacularly snowy winter.

The scenes have ranged from staggering amounts of mountain snow to a coating at unusually low elevations down to near sea level, and the numbers just keep growing: Up to 16 feet of snow in two weeks. Some Sierra resorts are pushing 600 inches of snow for the season, which is at least 200 inches above the norm.

The snow has been both bad and good. It has made a serious dent in the state’s drought. But it has also caused avalanches and multicar crashes, collapsed buildings and cut off entire communities. Multiple people have died, including a woman who was helping someone stuck in the snow and was hit by a passing vehicle.

Here, we take you on a visual tour across California — from stunning scenes of frosted beaches and foothills, to impassable mountain roads with snow piled higher than street signs.

Beach cities

In late February, the combination of unusually cold air and abundant moisture brought all types of frozen precipitation to beach and valley locations not accustomed to it.

In Northern California, a dusting of wet snow coated Twin Lakes State Beach in Santa Cruz and Pebble Beach in Crescent City. In Southern California, it was most likely graupel— a semi-frozen, snow-like substance — that fell in early March at Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Malibu and even Disneyland. There were also reports of hail as thunderstorms occasionally peppered the area.

Snow at or near sea level is a relatively rare occurrence along the California coast. In low elevations, copious moisture flooded portions of Southern California with as much as half a year’s worth of rain in days while easing drought conditions across the state.
(Karen Krenis/AP)

Foothills & suburbs

Measurable snow accumulated at unusually low elevations, as low as 250 feet above sea level, with a few inches to around a foot of the white stuff coating the foothills at elevations of approximately 1,500 to 3,500 feet.

Outside of Los Angeles, snow or graupel fell near the Hollywood sign on Mount Lee in late February, and unusually deep powder covered the San Gabriel Mountains behind it. The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, the first such warning in a generation or more.

Around the Bay Area, a dusting fell across parts of Berkeley Hills, Oakland Hills and on Mount Tam, with a few inches to half a foot or so in areas such as Cloverdale in Sonoma County and Calistoga in the Napa Valley.
(Jae C. Hong/AP)

The roads

Heavy snow, ice and the threat of rockslides made for treacherous driving conditions on mountain roads. Multiple crashes and multicar collisions led to numerous road closures, despite pleas from officials to avoid travel. Impassable roads also stranded residents in cut off communities for a week or more. One woman died attempting to help someone stuck in the snow in Big Bear. Keeping roads cleared has been a constant challenge for transportation authorities. In some cases, major highways were shut down, reopened and shut down again due to repeating rounds of heavy snow.

Near Lake Tahoe, a number of crashes and spinouts prompted the closure of a more than 75-mile stretch of Interstate 80 for nearly 34 hours. In Southern California, portions of Interstate 5, near and including the stretch known as “the Grapevine,” were closed due to snow and low visibility.

(Jae C. Hong/AP)

Mountains & mountain towns

The snow has slammed mountain communities and ski resorts across the state. Incredibly, the seasonal snowfall to date is now more than 50 feet(600 inches) at the Central Sierra Snow Lab near Donner Pass. That includes a three-day snowfall total of about 87 inches and a seven-day total of nearly 142 inches.

Several resorts are reporting over 600 inches on the season. The Sierra Nevada snowpack is now 154 to 230 percent of normal for the season to date, which has significantly eased the state’s drought conditions, but also raises concerns for flooding. The recent snow piled up to 15 feet at Yosemite National Park, which has been closed since Feb. 25 and is expected to remain closed until at least March 12. Forty inches of snow fell in just one day at Yosemite’s Curry Village resort.

In Southern California’s San Bernardino County — one of 13 counties declared under a state of emergency — some residents were stranded for days after some locations received 100 to 150 inches of snow in a week. At least five people have been found dead. Big Bear City recorded a record 80 inches of snow in one week, crushing the previous record of 58 inches.

(Mario Tama/Getty Images)
(Josh Edelson for The Washington Post)

Editing by Jason Samenow and Julie Vitkovskaya. Photo editing by Amanda Voisard. Video editing by John Farrell. Design and development by Andrew Braford. Design editing by Joe Moore.

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