Thursday, April 21, 2022 | 11:20 a.m.
TRUCKEE, Calif. — Heavy snow and rain fell across Northern California on Thursday as a substantial spring storm added to late-season precipitation totals after a dry winter.
Winter storm warnings were in effect from the Oregon border and down through the southern Cascades and the northern Sierra Nevada.
Chain controls were put into effect for vehicles on major Sierra highways and authorities discouraged mountain travel.
“Well it got nasty, and got nasty fast!!!” said a tweet by the California Highway Patrol office at Truckee on Interstate 80 north of Lake Tahoe.
Motorists were urged to bring warm clothing, food and water.
"You never know when you could get stuck in snow or long travel delays occur," the Sacramento office of the National Weather Service wrote.
Rain was expected to spread down the state into Southern California during the day, forecasters said. Snowfall there were expected to remain at high elevations but could not be ruled out on the Grapevine section of vital Interstate 5 between Los Angeles and the San Joaquin Valley.
Winter was a no-show from January through March in California. Thursday's update by the U.S. Drought Monitor showed wide swaths of the state in extreme or severe drought, but the report noted recent weeks of beneficial moisture.
