KCRA 3’s weather team said Monday is a Weather Alert Day, as major travel routes into the Sierra remain closed and snow has dropped to elevations in the Foothills, toppling trees and causing power outages for tens of thousands of people. Pacific Gas and Electric Company said around 8:45 a.m. that about 69,000 customers were without power in the company’s Sierra division, which includes El Dorado, Nevada, Placer and Sierra counties. “This is an all-hands-on-deck situation for PG&E,” spokesperson Megan McFarland said. “We are bringing in crews from other areas and working closely with first responders including Caltrans to gain access. Access is a major challenge as some of the roads still need to be cleared. Right now we are in the assessment phase, getting access to all the outages, seeing what has gone wrong and what kind of fixes are needed.”Meteorologist Heather Waldman said snow will continue to fall at low elevations through early Monday afternoon. Authorities continue to discourage mountain travel. Interstate 80 will remain closed from Applegate Road in Placer County to the Nevada state line all day due to heavy snow and downed power lines, Caltrans said. Highway 50 is closed from Placerville to Meyers.See below for more updates on the forecast and traffic conditions. 10:31 a.m.: Caltrans says I-80 and State Routes 49 and 20 will remain closed all day. 9:04 a.m.: Here’s Meteorologist Tamara Berg’s forecast for what to expect later today and this week. 8:45 a.m.: PG&E reports 69,000 customers without power in its Sierra division. 8:40 a.m.: Nevada County buildings in Nevada City and Grass Valley will open later today, while county buildings in Truckee will stay closed. County buses won’t be operating. 8:38 a.m.: A viewer in Swansboro sent us these photos.8:33 a.m.: Here’s video a viewer sent in of the minor avalanche that shut down State Route 89. 8:18 a.m.: Here’s how you can see traffic cam footage along I-80, Highway 50 and other routes impacted by today’s storm. 8:06 a.m.: PG&E gave us this update on power outages, as of 7:30 a.m. El Dorado County: 15,657Nevada County: 29,925Placer County: 9,561Amador County: 4,819Calaveras County: 4,9887:48 a.m.: We’ve now had the wettest December in downtown Sacramento since 2001, Meteorologist Heather Waldman says. 7:40 a.m.: Another Tahoe resort pulls the plug on operations today. 7:36 a.m.: Caltrans says State Route 89 is closed from Tahoe City to Squaw Valley Road after an avalanche. More road closure information:7:31 a.m.: Here’s an update on two Tahoe area ski resorts. 7:30 a.m.: How do things look out there where you live? You can send us photos and video at kcra.com/upload.6:47 a.m.: Our weather team says the snow is coming down like “wet cement.” 6:36 a.m.: Meteorologist Tamara Berg explains why today is a Weather Alert Day.6:29 a.m.: PG&E’s outage map shows a cluster of outages in and around Grass Valley.6:25 a.m.: KCRA 3’s Brittany Johnson reports from a gas station in Colfax where pumps aren’t working. Here’s the weather outlook for Monday and into the week in Northern California. Waldman said that on Monday additional accumulations of 1 to 3 inches are expected at about 2,000 feet, including in Grass Valley and Placerville. Expect another 12-18 inches above 6,000 feet. Monday’s snow has a very heavy texture and could continue to cause power outages and downed trees in addition to major travel impacts. Monday is a day to stay home in the Foothills unless you absolutely need to travel.Meanwhile, the Valley floor had another round of soaking showers to start the day. Rain will become less widespread late Monday morning with some scattered clearing in the afternoon. Monday night into Tuesday will be a quiet period for the entire region. The next storm with rain and low snow arrives late Tuesday evening and lasts into Wednesday morning. Once again the highlight for this next system will be the potential for accumulating snow at low elevations. Snow may fall as low as 1,000 feet early Wednesday. There is the possibility for more disruptive accumulation at 2,000 feet, however, this incoming storm has less moisture than Monday’s. That could possibly lessen the impact a bit. Still, travel is not advised in the Foothills or the Sierra in general Tuesday night into Wednesday. Expect rain in the Valley after 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Most of the wet weather will be clear of the Sacramento Valley and Bay Area by 8 a.m. Wednesday. Showers will linger a couple of hours longer in the San Joaquin Valley.A period of quieter weather will begin Wednesday evening and last through the weekend.View our interactive radar below.(App users, click here for interactive radar)Check our interactive traffic map before traveling.(App users, click here for an interactive traffic map)Download our app for the latest.Here is where you can download our app for the latest weather alerts.Follow our KCRA weather team on social media.Chief Meteorologist Mark Finan on Facebook and TwitterMeteorologist Tamara Berg on Facebook and TwitterMeteorologist Melanie Hunter on Facebook and TwitterMeteorologist Eileen Javora on FacebookMeteorologist Dirk Verdoorn on FacebookMeteorologist Heather Waldman on Twitter Watch our forecasts on TV or online.Here’s where to find our latest video forecast. You can also watch a livestream of our latest newscast here. 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KCRA 3’s weather team said Monday is a Weather Alert Day, as major travel routes into the Sierra remain closed and snow has dropped to elevations in the Foothills, causing toppled trees and power outages for tens of thousands of people.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company said around 8:45 a.m. that about 69,000 customers were without power in the company’s Sierra division, which includes El Dorado, Nevada, Placer and Sierra counties.
“This is an all-hands-on-deck situation for PG&E,” spokesperson Megan McFarland said. “We are bringing in crews from other areas and working closely with first responders including Caltrans to gain access. Access is a major challenge as some of the roads still need to be cleared. Right now we are in the assessment phase, getting access to all the outages, seeing what has gone wrong and what kind of fixes are needed.”
Meteorologist Heather Waldman said snow will continue to fall at low elevations through early Monday afternoon.
Authorities continue to discourage mountain travel. Interstate 80 remains closed from Applegate Road in Placer County to the Nevada state line due to low visibility and downed power lines. Highway 50 is closed from Placerville to Meyers.
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See below for more updates on the forecast and traffic conditions.
9:04 a.m.: Here’s Meteorologist Tamara Berg’s forecast for what to expect later today and this week.
8:45 a.m.: PG&E reports 69,000 customers without power in its Sierra division.
8:40 a.m.: Nevada County buildings in Nevada City and Grass Valley will open later today, while county buildings in Truckee will stay closed. County buses won’t be operating.
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8:38 a.m.: A viewer in Swansboro sent us these photos.
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8:33 a.m.: Here’s video a viewer sent in of the minor avalanche that shut down State Route 89.
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8:18 a.m.: Here’s how you can see traffic cam footage along I-80, Highway 50 and other routes impacted by today’s storm.
8:06 a.m.: PG&E gave us this update on power outages, as of 7:30 a.m.
- El Dorado County: 15,657
- Nevada County: 29,925
- Placer County: 9,561
- Amador County: 4,819
- Calaveras County: 4,988
7:48 a.m.: We’ve now had the wettest December in downtown Sacramento since 2001, Meteorologist Heather Waldman says.
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7:40 a.m.: Another Tahoe resort pulls the plug on operations today.
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7:36 a.m.: Caltrans says State Route 89 is closed from Tahoe City to Squaw Valley Road after an avalanche.
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More road closure information:
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7:31 a.m.: Here’s an update on two Tahoe area ski resorts.
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7:30 a.m.: How do things look out there where you live? You can send us photos and video at kcra.com/upload.
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6:47 a.m.: Our weather team says the snow is coming down like “wet cement.”
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6:36 a.m.: Meteorologist Tamara Berg explains why today is a Weather Alert Day.
6:29 a.m.: PG&E’s outage map shows a cluster of outages in and around Grass Valley.
6:25 a.m.: KCRA 3’s Brittany Johnson reports from a gas station in Colfax where pumps aren’t working.
Here’s the weather outlook for Monday and into the week in Northern California.
Waldman said that on Monday additional accumulations of 1 to 3 inches are expected at about 2,000 feet, including in Grass Valley and Placerville. Expect another 12-18 inches above 6,000 feet. Monday’s snow has a very heavy texture and could continue to cause power outages and downed trees in addition to major travel impacts. Monday is a day to stay home in the Foothills unless you absolutely need to travel.
Meanwhile, the Valley floor had another round of soaking showers to start the day. Rain will become less widespread late Monday morning with some scattered clearing in the afternoon.
Monday night into Tuesday will be a quiet period for the entire region.
The next storm with rain and low snow arrives late Tuesday evening and lasts into Wednesday morning. Once again the highlight for this next system will be the potential for accumulating snow at low elevations. Snow may fall as low as 1,000 feet early Wednesday. There is the possibility for more disruptive accumulation at 2,000 feet, however, this incoming storm has less moisture than Monday’s. That could possibly lessen the impact a bit. Still, travel is not advised in the Foothills or the Sierra in general Tuesday night into Wednesday.
Expect rain in the Valley after 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Most of the wet weather will be clear of the Sacramento Valley and Bay Area by 8 a.m. Wednesday. Showers will linger a couple of hours longer in the San Joaquin Valley.
A period of quieter weather will begin Wednesday evening and last through the weekend.
View our interactive radar below.
(App users, click here for interactive radar)
Check our interactive traffic map before traveling.
(App users, click here for an interactive traffic map)
Download our app for the latest.
Here is where you can download our app for the latest weather alerts.
Follow our KCRA weather team on social media.
Watch our forecasts on TV or online.
Here’s where to find our latest video forecast. You can also watch a livestream of our latest newscast here. The banner on our website turns red when we’re live.
We’re also streaming on the Very Local app for Roku, Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV.
