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Record snow blankets Sierra Nevada, bolsters snowpack

In this image taken from video from a Caltrans remote video traffic camera, traffic is stopped along a snow covered Interstate 80 at Donner Summit, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. Heavy overnight rains in Northern California left two people dead in a submerged car as authorities on Thursday urged residents of several Southern California mountain and canyon communities to voluntarily leave their homes because of possible mud and debris flows. (Caltrans via AP)

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Dangerously low snowpack levels in the Sierra took a turn for the better as the state Department of Water Resources reported on Monday that the snowpack was between 145% and 161% of normal across the range, with more snow expected.

At Donner Pass in the Sierra, officials with the University of California, Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Laboratory on Monday said recent snowfall has smashed the snowiest December record of 179 inches (4.6 meters), set in 1970. The record is now 193.7 inches (4.9 meters), and more snow is expected.

The Northstar California Resort in Truckee closed its mountain operations on Monday amid blizzard conditions. The ski resort has received more than 6 feet (1.8 meters) of snow over the last 48 hours, according to the resort’s Facebook post.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.