Amy Lisenbe/Nevada Appeal Patrick Schumacher, 11, top, and brother, Maxwell, 9, sled down a hill at Blackwell's Pond Park Sunday afternoon in the new snow. Another winter storm rolled through the Sierras Saturday night and Sunday morning, dumping up to a foot in some areas of the valley floor according to the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Reno.
Local employers may be getting a lot of sick calls today.
Why?
Some call it the powder flu.
After some three to five feet of new snow fell in the Sierra over the weekend, storm clouds were expected to clear early this morning revealing blue skies and fresh snow - lots of it.
"It looks like it's going to be a great day," said Jane Hollingsworth, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Reno. "We had some nice snow totals in the (Sierra) and it's good snow to boot."
While Hollingsworth may have not necessarily been saying "good" in the powder hound sense, she noted the weekend's totals brought winter snow levels back to "more than 100 percent of normal."
This storm also portends good things for water levels in the spring and summer, she said.
"We had good snow-to-water ratios with (this) storm," she said. "If you had roughly a foot of snow, you had about an inch of water in this one.
"It was fairly wet snow, and will help water supplies."
Local highways and byways were snarled with traffic Saturday and Sunday but, once again, Nevada Department of Transportation plows worked overtime.
The storm made travel difficult in the Sierra. Interstate 80 over Donner Summit was closed for more than four hours Saturday night because of poor visibility and high winds, said Mark Dinger, a spokesman for the California Department of Transportation.
A 70-mile section of Interstate 80 over the Sierra Nevada was closed again late Sunday afternoon because of zero visibility, said a dispatcher for the California Department of Transportation.
It was slow going for mountain motorists throughout the day because of the storm, said Caltrans spokesman Mark Dinger. Numerous minor accidents were reported.
Wind gusts of up to 109 mph were reported Sunday along the Sierra crest near Lake Tahoe, according to the National Weather Service.
Westbound I-80 traffic was backed up for about five miles at Truckee, Calif., after the interstate reopened shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday.
"They're trying to get traffic cleared out," Dinger said. "We have about 205 people and 135 pieces of snow equipment working on the I-80 corridor."
South of Lake Tahoe, Highway 88 over Carson Pass was closed for nearly 2 1/2 hours Sunday after a small avalanche trapped two vehicles at about 8:30 a.m., Dinger said.
Crews freed the vehicles from the slide, and no injuries were reported. As of press time Sunday only a few minor accidents with no major injuries were reported by Nevada Highway Patrol officials.
Searchers rescued a missing snowboarder on Saturday night near Truckee, Placer County Sheriff Edward Bonner said.
Thomas Groh, 17, of Novato, Calif., was reported missing late Saturday afternoon by friends after he was last seen on a run at the Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort.
He was found in good condition outside the resort at about 10:30 p.m. after contacting rescuers with his cell phone and giving a general idea of his whereabouts, Bonner said.
"(Searchers) found tracks in the snow, ultimately finding Groh," the sheriff said.
As for today through mid-week, temperatures should continue to rise with blue skies on the horizon.
"The rest of the week looks mild as well," Hollingsworth said. "Another system is coming in Friday night, but it's a smaller system and will (hit) mostly north of Tahoe."
• The Associated Press contributed to this article. Contact reporter Andrew Pridgen at apridgen@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.
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