High elevations of the Sierra Nevada sported new dustings of snow Friday as a late-spring weather system moved through the drought-stricken region.
“It’s May, right?” the National Weather Service tweeted from its Reno, Nevada, office.
The cold and slow-moving low-pressure system was expected to bring intermittent light to moderate snow to the Sierra and western Nevada into the weekend, forecasters said.
The storm snarled traffic with numerous spinouts on part of Interstate 80 over the top of the Sierra on Thursday. The California Highway Patrol reported multiple collisions near Donner Pass west of Truckee, California.
The California Department of Transportation closed Monitor Pass, Sonora Pass and State Route 120 at Lee Vining ahead of the storm, saying there was no timetable for reopening.
The Eastern Sierra’s Mammoth Mountain resort, which plans to remain open for skiing and snowboarding through Memorial Day, said it received an overnight dusting and a few inches of new snow were possible by Saturday morning.
Sunrise temperatures were around 19 degrees Fahrenheit.
The resort’s website urged visitors to be prepared for wintry storm conditions.
