A late winter storm that brought as much as 10 feet of snow to some parts of California threatened power outages in the northern part of the state on Tuesday.
The massive storm started late last week and brought more than 100 inches of snow to some high elevation areas, and it continues to batter the Pacific Northwest. National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists issued a slew of weather-related warnings across multiple states on Tuesday, including California, as the storm brought high winds and more snow to the region.
“The strong winds and weight of snow on tree limbs may down power lines and could cause sporadic power outages. Travel could be very difficult,” the winter storm warning for the Eureka, California, region said.
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As of 8 a.m. Eastern time, less than 6,000 people were without power in California, according to a map by PowerOutage.us. Over the weekend, the storm cut power to nearly 50,000 customers in California and Nevada, The New York Times reported.
NWS meteorologist James White told Newsweek that the Eureka region received as much as 4 feet of snow in some of the higher elevation areas, and up to 2 feet of snow in the mid-elevation areas. An additional 3 to 6 inches is expected to fall throughout the day on Tuesday.
“For the most part our winter storm warnings are winding down, but we do still have a couple in place for the highest elevation passes in our areas,” White said.
White added that the biggest impact was from hail that fell over the weekend. The hail covered roadways in the area.
The winter storm warning will remain in effect until 4 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on Tuesday for northern California. Travel is discouraged while the warning is in effect.
“If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency,” the warning said. “Persons should delay all travel if possible. If travel is absolutely necessary, drive with extreme caution and be prepared for sudden changes in visibility.”
The storm created such dire winter conditions over the weekend that vehicles and homes were buried under feet of snow and major travel routes were forced to close, including Interstate 80 running between Colfax and the Nevada state line.
NWS meteorologists have issued weather alerts in four other states including a winter weather advisory, winter storm warning and wind advisory as the storm continues its trek across the northwest.
Alerts were in place for Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana warning of snow and winter weather through Wednesday morning.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.