You Won't Believe How Much Snow Is Falling in the Sierra

By gvwire

Published 5 years ago on

February 5, 2019

Snow continues to blanket the Sierra Nevada and the foothills, shutting down schools Tuesday, making travel treacherous, and offering the promise of irrigation water for Valley farmers.
The National Weather Service in Hanford says this latest series of winter storms had produced 5 to 6 feet of Sierra snow in five days through Monday.
In addition, much of the Sierra now has snow depths of more than 100 inches.

BB-Sized Hail Around Fresno

Hail fell Tuesday in and around Fresno and was captured on video by GV Wire’s Jamie Ouverson and on social media.

#hail is falling in northeast #Fresno. BB-sized pic.twitter.com/TtKuL3mdUR

— Nancy Price (@neprice) February 5, 2019

Winter Storm Warning

Shortly before 1 p.m. Tuesday, the NWS issued a winter storm warning for the Sierra from Yosemite to Kings Canyon and the Tulare County mountains. The warning covered the communities of Camp Nelson, Giant Forest, Lodgepole, and Johnsondale.
Predictions call for up to 4 more feet of snow with winds gusting up to 70 mph along the Sierra crest.
The NWS also issued a winter storm advisory at 12:57 p.m. Tuesday for portions of the San Joaquin Valley. Up to 3 inches of snow was expected, as was the possibility of black ice at elevations above 1,500 feet.
Both advisories are in effect until 4 p.m. today.
Meanwhile, The Fresno Bee reported that snow closed some schools and roads in the Madera County foothills Tuesday. And Associated Press reported that all roads in Yosemite National Park were closed.

CAMPUS CLOSED TODAY: Due to poor weather conditions, the Oakhurst Community College Center campus is CLOSED all day today. Classes are scheduled to resume again tomorrow. Please check Canvas, email or any of our social media pages (facebook, twitter, instagram) for any new info. pic.twitter.com/pqp3xXS3Tw

— Oakhurst CCC (@OakhurstCCC) February 5, 2019

Water Totals Above Historic Average

These latest snow-packed storms have pushed the Sierra snowpack above 100% of its seasonal average.

The #Tulare Basin and southern #SierraNevada region, with 18.4 inches of precipitation to date, stands at 121% of historical average for this water year, and ahead of the full-year total it received last year in 2017-2018. https://t.co/72ow0inaoc

— Robert Dolezal (@RobertDolezal) February 5, 2019

The Forecast

Wednesday’s forecast calls for precipitation to end in Fresno with temperatures dropping to an overnight low of 30 degrees. There’s a chance rain could return to Fresno on Friday.

Snow in San Francisco? You Bet.

Snow, ice, and shivering cold also blasted normally mild cities from Seattle to Las Vegas to San Francisco on Tuesday.The storm brought a surprise dusting to peaks overlooking San Francisco — the city’s first notable snow in eight years. Yosemite’s ski area closed, restaurants had shorter hours, and shuttles were not running because of snow-covered roads.”It’s beautiful and we certainly need the snow, but we’re asking people to stay indoors,” park spokesman Scott Gediman said. “As the weather improves, we’ll plow roads and assess the situation.”
(Associated Press contributed to this report.)