More snowfall in Sierra adds to snowpack, delays travelers

     Associated Press
      RENO -- A storm dumped up to a foot of snow Sunday on a healthy Lake Tahoe snowpack and caused more headaches for Sierra travelers.
      More snow was on the way as the National Weather Service posted a winter storm watch for today for Lake Tahoe and Mono County, Calif., for elevations above 7,000 feet.
      No major accidents were reported, but motorists heading over Sierra passes faced road controls and delays.
      "We're getting the usual spin-outs and Sunday traffic and traffic backups," said California Highway Patrol dispatcher Gina Moran in Truckee, Calif.
      "It's the same thing every Sunday when everybody tries to leave at once during a storm."
      In Southern Nevada, Sunday's temperatures were normal for this time of year, with a high reported at 62 degrees.
      However, National Weather Service Meteorologist Dave Kosier with the agency's Las Vegas office said a winter storm watch has been issued for the Mount Charleston area because of the storm system that pounded the Lake Tahoe area. As much as a foot of snow at Mount Charleston and Kyle Canyon could fall by Tuesday.
      "We are also expecting it to bring some rain to the valley here on Monday night or Tuesday," Kosier said Sunday.
      In the north, chains were mandatory on two major trans-Sierra routes: Interstate 80 over Donner Summit and U.S. Highway 50 over Echo Summit.
      Westbound truck traffic on I-80 was being held at the California line to avoid adding to the congestion in Truckee.
      In Nevada, chains or snow tires were required on several highways, including highways 431 over the Mount Rose Summit, 341 over Geiger Grade and 207 over Kingsbury Grade.
      The Squaw Valley ski resort reported 6-10 inches of new snow Sunday. Up to a foot of snow fell on higher elevations.
      The weather service called for heavy snow at times this afternoon with local blizzard conditions possible.
      Jeff Cohen, spokesman for the California Department of Water Resources, said the overall average snowpack for the season stood at 105 percent of normal for the end of January.
      That compares with depths that were 60 percent to 90 percent of normal in early January. January snowfall was nearly double historic averages for the month.
      Cohen said the average snow depth of the 26 Sierra measuring stations north of Lake Tahoe was 116 percent of normal, while depths averaged 99 percent of normal between Tahoe and Yosemite and 100 percent south of Yosemite.
      State Climatologist John James has said that if the snowfall continues, it will mean an unprecedented fourth straight wet year for the Sierra.
     
     Review-Journal writer Glenn Puit contributed to this report.