The worst of the rain and winds have eased in the Bay Area, but roads remain dangerously closed as winter storms hit the Sierras on Sunday.
Showers and isolated thunderstorms are expected to continue through Sunday night in the Bay Area, but not as strong as Saturday’s storm, according to the National Weather Service.
Officials forecast total region-wide rainfall of 1/4 inch to 1 inch for most areas. Some areas on Saturday saw an inch or more. Morgan Hill had the heaviest rainfall in the Bay Area in the 24 hours ending at 5pm: 2.83 inches.
Twitter user Reported a brief hail to the Japan Meteorological Agency Southern San Jose, Los Gatos, and Santa Cruz due to cooler temperatures on Sunday morning.
Snow covered Mount Hamilton and the California Highway Patrol closed highway CA-130 in the mountains of Santa Clara County just before 12:30 pm due to freezing.
The Bay Area is still affected by Saturday’s devastating rainstorm, with various agencies mopping up to clear fallen trees and working to restore power in some areas.
In the Sierra, the National Weather Service warns of unsafe mountain travel until 4 a.m. Monday, predicting an additional 1-2 feet of snow on mountains over 4,500 feet on Sunday.
The service warned that travel would be “difficult or impossible” due to likely whiteout conditions, significant travel delays, chain control and road closures.
caltrans report on sunday morning Several roads in the Tahoe area remain closed and an estimated time of reopening is unknown. These include SR20 in Nevada City, SR49 in Downeyville, SR89 in Satry, SR89 from Emerald Bay SP to DL Bliss SP, SR267 in Northstar Kings Beach and US 50 in Myers Sawmill.
Sierra Interstate 80 Most vehicles reopen on Sundayalthough trucks were still being turned at the Colfax-Nevada border.
Major ski resorts remained closed on Sunday.
Palisades Tahoe has suspended all lifts due to poor visibility and high avalanche risk. Heavenly reported an operational hold with no scheduled opening time at 7:30 am. Tahoe’s Sierra also closed the slopes and he reported more than 45 inches of snow on the way.
Mallory Moench is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @mallorymoench
