'Crippling Blizzard' For Sierra As 10 Feet Of Snow Forecast

CALIFORNIA — A massive winter storm is poised to slam the Sierra this week, promising an unrelenting barrage of snow that forecasters warn could be hazardous to life and make travel over the passes virtually impossible for several days.

The National Weather Service issued a broad blizzard warning covering the Southern Cascades, Northern Sierra, Eastern Sierra and Tahoe area, warning of up to 10 feet of snow at elevations above 5,000 feet.

Forecasters urged drivers to avoid mountain travel from 4 a.m. Thursday through at least Sunday morning, citing an "extremely difficult to impossible" travel outlook. Caltrans officials warned the storm was forecast to dump the heaviest snowfall of the season, with major impacts expected even at lower mountain elevations.

The weather service said heavy mountain snow would begin early Thursday morning in Northeast California, spreading to the Tahoe basin by late morning, followed by the southern Sierra by afternoon. Early snowfall rates were projected at 1 to 3 inches an hour, before ramping up in intensity under blizzard conditions between Friday night and Saturday morning.

"Snow rates of 2-4 inches per hour are expected, with road closures, whiteout conditions and near zero visibility at times," NWS Sacramento said Tuesday. "Very strong winds, combined with heavy snow could cause extensive tree damage and extended power outages."

Colin McCarthy, a San Carlos native and atmospheric science student with a large online following, warned the incoming storm might land among the most severe in modern memory.

"This could be one of the most powerful storms of the 21st century for the region," McCarty wrote Tuesday on X. "Now is the time to prepare for the storm, as even for a region accustomed to heavy snow, this will be a crippling blizzard."

Forecasters monitoring the storm across the region shared similar sentiments, pleading with travelers not to take unnecessary risks that could have deadly consequences.

"There are only so many ways that we can say it will be treacherous to be traveling on the roads or even exiting your home during this timeframe," one NWS Reno meteorologist wrote in a forecast update. "Whiteout conditions are very disorienting, so this is not the time to gamble with you or your family's lives, especially over a planned weekend ski vacation."