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ENLARGE
Snow covers the parking lot Christmas morning at the Safeway store on Sutton Way and Brunswick Road in Grass Valley.
The first white Christmas in recent memory will give way to sunny skies today, with the clouds returning for the weekend, as western Nevada County ushers in the last full week of 2008.
While many families were indoors opening presents, the white stuff was flying — providing a picture postcard scene in the Sierra foothills. Most streets were quiet, though some children bundled up and played outside in the snow and other residents made last-minute dashes to the supermarket for their Christmas feast.
“This is the first white Christmas I can remember around here,” said Robert Eaton of Grass Valley, a 25-year resident. “It was beautiful.”
Added local resident Stella Vados, “I sang ‘White Christmas’ while the snow fell. At least what words I could remember.”
The snow melted from most of the streets in western Nevada County by noon, with help from snowplows plying both the Golden Center Freeway through town and Highway 20 east of Nevada City. Snow is still on most of the trees, and with temperatures hovering below freezing, should stay in many places over the weekend.
Temperatures are expected to reach 25 degrees in Grass Valley today, with light winds. Temperatures will climb to 33 degrees on Saturday, with a slight chance of snow showers returning on Saturday night.
Snow could fall at 6,200 feet on Sunday, which means skiers and snowboarders returning from a weekend on the slopes will need to carry chains or take four-wheel drive cars with them, though there is only a 20 percent chance of snow on that day, according to the National Weather Service.
Temperatures in western Nevada County could climb back into the 40s by the start of the work week, according to forecasters.
Sierra Nevada slopes were packed with new dustings of the white stuff, with Heavenly Ski Resort reporting 48 inches of snow in the past 48 hours as of late Thursday. Boreal Mountain Resort, near the top of Donner Pass, was reporting 2 feet of new snow on Thursday as well.
Homewood Mountain Resort and Alpine Meadows each reported upwards of 2 feet.
“The powder is so deep, skiers need windshield wipers on their goggles as they come down the mountain,” said Homewood general manager Kent Hoopingarner. “This is one of the snowiest Christmas holiday periods I can remember.”
Heavy snow and hazardous conditions shut down an 80-mile stretch of Interstate 80 intermittently throughout the day.
The main link between northern Nevada and Northern California was shut down around 3 a.m. Thursday because of heavy snow whipped by gusty winds that created whiteout conditions.
Westbound traffic was held at the Nevada line, while eastbound travelers were stopped at Applegate.
A dispatcher with the California Highway Patrol said the highway reopened just after 9 a.m. But the CHP halted traffic again shortly after 10 a.m. It reopened about an hour later, but authorities warned of slow going and possible delays throughout the day, depending on conditions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. To contact Staff Writer David Mirhadi, e-mail dmirhadi@theunion.com or call 477-4239. To contact Editor Jeff Pelline, e-mail jpelline@theunion.com or call 477-4235.
While many families were indoors opening presents, the white stuff was flying — providing a picture postcard scene in the Sierra foothills. Most streets were quiet, though some children bundled up and played outside in the snow and other residents made last-minute dashes to the supermarket for their Christmas feast.
“This is the first white Christmas I can remember around here,” said Robert Eaton of Grass Valley, a 25-year resident. “It was beautiful.”
Added local resident Stella Vados, “I sang ‘White Christmas’ while the snow fell. At least what words I could remember.”
The snow melted from most of the streets in western Nevada County by noon, with help from snowplows plying both the Golden Center Freeway through town and Highway 20 east of Nevada City. Snow is still on most of the trees, and with temperatures hovering below freezing, should stay in many places over the weekend.
Temperatures are expected to reach 25 degrees in Grass Valley today, with light winds. Temperatures will climb to 33 degrees on Saturday, with a slight chance of snow showers returning on Saturday night.
Snow could fall at 6,200 feet on Sunday, which means skiers and snowboarders returning from a weekend on the slopes will need to carry chains or take four-wheel drive cars with them, though there is only a 20 percent chance of snow on that day, according to the National Weather Service.
Temperatures in western Nevada County could climb back into the 40s by the start of the work week, according to forecasters.
Sierra Nevada slopes were packed with new dustings of the white stuff, with Heavenly Ski Resort reporting 48 inches of snow in the past 48 hours as of late Thursday. Boreal Mountain Resort, near the top of Donner Pass, was reporting 2 feet of new snow on Thursday as well.
Homewood Mountain Resort and Alpine Meadows each reported upwards of 2 feet.
“The powder is so deep, skiers need windshield wipers on their goggles as they come down the mountain,” said Homewood general manager Kent Hoopingarner. “This is one of the snowiest Christmas holiday periods I can remember.”
Heavy snow and hazardous conditions shut down an 80-mile stretch of Interstate 80 intermittently throughout the day.
The main link between northern Nevada and Northern California was shut down around 3 a.m. Thursday because of heavy snow whipped by gusty winds that created whiteout conditions.
Westbound traffic was held at the Nevada line, while eastbound travelers were stopped at Applegate.
A dispatcher with the California Highway Patrol said the highway reopened just after 9 a.m. But the CHP halted traffic again shortly after 10 a.m. It reopened about an hour later, but authorities warned of slow going and possible delays throughout the day, depending on conditions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. To contact Staff Writer David Mirhadi, e-mail dmirhadi@theunion.com or call 477-4239. To contact Editor Jeff Pelline, e-mail jpelline@theunion.com or call 477-4235.
