Scott Sonner / AP
Traffic crosses a bridge over a drainage ditch in Sparks, Monday, Jan. 9, 2017, where water levels were falling after flooding Sunday night. The worst danger had passed but more rain was in the forecast later this week.
Published Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017 | 11:53 a.m.
Updated Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017 | 1:34 p.m.
RENO — Emergency crews still clearing flood debris from the streets of Reno and other Nevada cities started revving up the snowplows Tuesday as yet another fierce winter storm barreled into the state.
Snow and winds gusting up to 100 mph on ridgetops over the Sierra Nevada are expected to cause whiteout conditions, and a section of U.S. Interstate 80 was closed. Multiple feet of snow are forecast around Lake Tahoe on top of the 6 feet that fell there last week. And the National Weather Service added a rare blizzard warning to an avalanche warning already place through Wednesday in the Lake Tahoe area.
Crews worked through the night into Tuesday morning in Reno and Sparks to clear tree branches and other debris that cluttered roads and closed several bridges after significant flooding Sunday and Monday.
"We're going to have to switch over to snow removal," Reno public works director Dave Solaro said.
The succession of storms is already starting to have a noticeable impact on drought conditions.
The storms have added 33 billion gallons of water to Lake Tahoe since Jan. 1. That's enough to supply every household of four with water for a year in a city of 100,000, or cover New York's Manhattan Island 7 feet deep.
Nearly 3 feet of new snow already was reported Tuesday morning at the top of the Mount Rose ski resort between Reno and Lake Tahoe. Three to seven feet of snow is possible at lake level, and up to 10 feet by Wednesday night at elevations above 7,000 feet, the service said.
Gov. Brian Sandoval said during a tour of flood damage in Reno and Sparks on Monday they were fortunate no one was killed or injured when the Truckee River left its banks and sent more than a foot of water into the Sparks industrial area where 25,000 people work.
"But we're not out of the woods yet," he said. "We have a winter snow storm coming in right behind this. The soil is really damp right now. The winds are going to start up and trees could start blowing down."
An overturned semi-trailer truck closed both southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 395 a few miles north of Reno. The Mount Rose Highway connection Reno to Lake Tahoe also was closed.
Avalanche warnings and storm conditions prompted several ski resorts in the Sierra Nevada to close Tuesday or halt chair lift operations due to high winds and low visibility.
Sugar Bowl ski resort's website said that due to the road closure of I-80, high winds and low visibility it would be closed Tuesday. Adventure Mountain in Lake Tahoe was closed due to blizzard conditions.
Mammoth Mountain spokeswoman Joani Lynch said that just one lift was running Tuesday morning after heavy overnight snowfall.
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