January ends with more snow at Tahoe

RENO, Nev. - A fast-moving storm left up to 8 inches of snow Sunday in the Lake Tahoe area, capping an unusually snowy second half of January.

Alpine Meadows ski resort north of Lake Tahoe reported 7 inches of new snow and 8 1/2 feet of snow for January. The resort's snowfall for the month has averaged 9 1/2 feet over the last six years.

A Jan. 16 storm ended a 27-day dry spell in the Tahoe area and marked the start of a string of storms that has sent the Tahoe snowpack back up to at least 130 percent of average.

"What's amazing is we ended up with all this snow in January and it didn't start snowing until the middle of the month," said Alpine Meadows spokeswoman Rachael Woods.

"We were open last season until June 28 and we should go at least into June again this season."

Sierra-at-Tahoe spokeswoman Nancy Harrison said January's snowfall should help lure large crowds over the Presidents' Day holiday weekend, traditionally one of the two biggest weekends of the ski season.

The holiday falls on Feb. 13-15 this year.

"The latest snow is icing on the cake to give us a great base," she said. "We're expecting a big Presidents' Day weekend, but it will depend on the weather then. It's best if it snows now and is clear then."

The storm prompted mandatory chain controls over two trans-Sierra highways: Interstate 80 over Donner Summit and U.S. Highway 50 over Echo Summit.

Those controls were lifted Sunday afternoon after the snow let up, but controls remained in effect on other Sierra highways, including Highway 88 over Carson Pass.

No major accidents were reported.

Westbound truck rigs on I-80 were held at the California line until the storm passed through.

Some minor accidents prompted a temporary closure of I-80 over Donner Summit until the scene could be cleared.

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