California Gets Its Snowiest Day This Season ... in May

Typically, precipitation is dropping off in the state by April
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 7, 2024 12:30 AM CDT
California Gets One of Its Snowiest Days This Season ... in May
In this photo provided by Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, snow falls in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., Saturday, May 4, 2024.   (Peter Morning/Mammoth Mountain Ski Area via AP)

"Did anyone have the snowiest day of the 2023/2024 season being in May on their winter bingo card?" That was the word from the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Laboratory at Donner Summit after station officials recorded, on the unlikely date of May 5, 26.4 inches of snow in a 24-hour period—breaking this season's daily snowfall record at the station, which had been set in March, by 2.6 inches. The Los Angeles Times reports the "rare late season storm" that swept through parts of Northern California over the weekend dropped between 16 and 31 inches of snow in other regions across the Sierra Nevada mountain range; it also "drenched" the San Francisco Bay area with rain, per the AP.

Portions of several highways around Lake Tahoe, including Interstate 80, were closed for several days due to dangerous conditions and "zero visibility," per Caltrans; flood advisories were issued in the Bay Area; and a Tahoe ski resort said Sunday it was expecting "one of the best May powder days in recent memory." Considering the state sees around 70% of its annual precipitation from December through February, and typically sees a dropoff in rain and snow from April on, the weather event was getting lots of attention. "For a system to dump 1 to 2 feet of snow in early May is quite remarkable," says a National Weather Service meteorologist. The temperature is expected to warm up significantly this week, hitting about 90 degrees in the Sacramento Valley by Saturday. (More California stories.)

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