Snow brings problems to Sierra Nevada

RENO - A potent storm dropped heavy snow and caused major delays Saturday for holiday travelers in the Sierra Nevada.

Tire chains were mandatory Saturday evening on all three major mountain highways connecting the Sacramento, Calif., and Reno areas: Interstate 80 over Donner Summit, U.S. 50 over Echo Summit and State Highway 88 over Carson Pass.

The snowfall shut down portions of Interstate 80 and Highway 88 at various times Saturday.

Over a 24-hour period ending Saturday morning, the Boreal ski resort atop Donner Summit reported 12 to 16 inches of new snow, while the Sierra-at-Tahoe resort near Tahoe's south shore received up to 15 inches of snow.

The National Weather Service was calling for total storm accumulations of up to 5 feet of snow at higher elevations by early Monday morning.

In Northern California, heavy rain and snow at higher elevations were in the forecast as the region braced for a weekend of wintry weather and potential delays in holiday travel.

As one storm system moved through the region Saturday, a second, more power­ful system was expected to hit the area today , forecasters said.

The first storm drenched the region, dropping more than an inch of rain in Redwood City, about 24 miles south of San Francisco, in a little more than six hours early Saturday, National Weather Service forecaster Diana Hender­son said.

The second storm was expected to arrive early today .

"It's expected to bring some sustained winds, with a possibility of thunderstorms and moderate to heavy rain," Henderson said.

The weather was causing delays Saturday at San Francisco International Airport but was affecting mostly regional flights, airport duty manager Shannon Wilson said.

Arriving flights were being delayed up to 45 minutes Saturday afternoon, and about 12 flights had been canceled because of a change in the direction of prevailing winds, Wilson said.

With the wind coming from the south instead of the west, only two of the airport's four runways were being used for takeoffs and departures, according to Wilson.

"It's an unusual wind for us," he said.

North of San Francisco, more than 6 inches of rain fell Friday in the tiny Sonoma County community of Venado. And with a second storm system approaching, officials were paying close attention to the rising levels of the Russian River.

The river was expected to peak just below "monitor stage" on Christmas Eve, National Weather Service hydrologist Allan Takamoto said.

That's about 3 feet below flood stage but high enough that officials had a "heightened awareness of what's going on," Takamoto said.