An “extreme” blizzard has triggered widespread disruption within the western US – with greater than 10ft of snow piling up in locations.
Thousands of properties had been left with out energy in California and Nevada over the weekend, whereas the state of Utah was additionally hit.
The states have additionally been affected by heavy rain and wind speeds of greater than 100mph – together with a twister that rained particles down on an elementary faculty in Madera County, California.
Hundreds of motorists had been left stranded on the Interstate 80 freeway between Reno and Sacramento because of the situations, forcing authorities to close down 100 miles (160km) of the busy street.
Officials stated there had been “multiple” stories of crashes and drivers dropping management.
A Major League Soccer recreation in Salt Lake City, Utah, was among the many sporting fixtures disrupted – though officers controversially determined to permit play to proceed regardless of heavy snow, a two-hour delay to kick-off and a stoppage for lightning.
Los Angeles FC supervisor Steve Cherundolo, whose facet misplaced 3-0 to hosts Real Salt Lake, branded Saturday’s match a “disgrace” and stated it ought to have been referred to as off.
Several ski resorts within the affected states had been additionally compelled to shut because of the quantity of snowfall and poor visibility.
More than 7,000 properties in California had been left with out energy, whereas energy cuts in and round Las Vegas affected virtually 29,000 properties on Saturday.
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The storm first started sweeping in on Thursday, with the freezing situations, snow and storms anticipated to proceed into Wednesday in some areas.
A blizzard warning coated a 300-mile stretch of the Sierra Nevada mountain area on Sunday, with forecasters warning extra snow was possible.
One of the worst-affected areas was the city of Truckee close to Lake Tahoe in California, the place properties, companies and automobiles had been buried in additional than 10ft of snow.
Resident Dubravka Tomasin described the blizzard as “pretty harrowing.”
National Weather Service meteorologist William Churchill stated the situations represented a “life-threatening concern” and stated snow might pile as much as greater than 12ft deep by the top of Sunday in greater areas.
He described the storm as an “extreme blizzard,” including: “It’s certainly just about as bad as it gets in terms of the snow totals and the winds. It doesn’t get much worse than that.”
Other points of interest compelled to shut over the weekend included Yosemite National Park in California, whereas authorities additionally warned of an ongoing “high to extreme” hazard of avalanches in mountain areas.
Source: information.sky.com”