Winter storm sweeps across West with heavy snow, strong winds creating havoc on roads

Powerful snowstorm sweeps across West

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A large and powerful storm howled across the West with snow and strong winds Monday, snarling traffic, closing schools and threatening to spawn mudslides in wildfire-devastated Southern California.

Virtually the entire region was suffering — from subzero wind chills in Washington state to heavy snow that closed schools and government offices in Reno, Nev., and left big rigs jackknifed across highways in several states. Blizzard warnings were in effect for northern Arizona and parts of Colorado, with forecasters predicting up to 2 feet of snow around Flagstaff.

The National Weather Service said the upper elevations of the Sierra mountains could get up to 3 feet of snow, with up to 4 feet forecast for the mountains of southern Utah. Even the hills east of San Francisco Bay received a rare dusting overnight, and snow was predicted for Fresno and other communities in California’s Central Valley.

Bad weather stretched far to the east as well. The first snow of the season for much of Indiana tangled traffic and delayed schools. Crashes left one person dead.

Reno schools closed, and many state government workers were told to stay home. Chains or snow tires were required across the region. Several flights into and out of Reno-Tahoe International Airport were delayed or canceled.

“Motorists are going to have to chain up,” Trooper Chuck Allen with the Nevada Highway Patrol said. “Otherwise, we end up with a parking lot.”

The storm was blamed for dozens of accidents and road closures in the Flagstaff area, including a small stretch of Interstate 17 near a scenic overlook where a UPS truck lost its trailer and slammed into a barrier wall.

Deputy City Manager Jim Wine said snowfall is pretty routine for a city that sits at an elevation of nearly 7,000 feet. But winds of 30 mph with gusts of up to 50 mph are a concern because they could cause power outages and whiteout driving conditions, he said. The city school district let students out early Monday and canceled classes Tuesday. Northern Arizona University also released students and staff early Monday, in the midst of final exams.

Arizona Department of Transportation spokesman Rod Wigman vowed to keep northern Arizona roads plowed despite a $100 million budget deficit, but advised people to stay home if possible as the brunt of the storm sweeps through in the afternoon and evening.

“When the sun goes down, people need to go home,” Wigman said.

In Southern California, heavy rain — up to 4 inches was forecast in some areas — sparked concerns of mudslides. The foothill areas below the wildfire-scarred Angeles National Forest were barricaded with sandbags and concrete barriers, some decorated with Christmas garlands. Several roads in the San Gabriel Mountains, a few miles northeast of Los Angeles, were closed.

Nine canyon homes were evacuated Monday before being allowed to go home several hours later as the rain shifted south. Still, residents of foothill towns such as La Canada Flintridge were urged to be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice.

“People are nervous,” homeowner Gary Stibal said as he kept watch on the burned mountain slope that rises sharply from his backyard. His car was packed and, like others in the neighborhood, was parked in the driveway facing toward the street for a quick getaway.

In the Tehachapi Mountains north of Los Angeles, a stretch of Interstate 5 — the state’s major north-south route — was closed Monday evening due to snow, California Highway Patrol Officer Monica Posada said.

In San Diego, the National Weather Service issued a warning of high winds as the storm front approached. Gusts of up to 60 mph were forecast, especially along the coast, foothills and deserts.

Two more storms, this time from the tropical Pacific, were expected to arrive on Thursday and Saturday.

One of those storms was churning waves up to 50 feet high off Hawaii’s beaches, drawing hundreds of people to Oahu’s North Shore.

Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois are bracing for the prospect of more than a foot of snow, high winds and blizzard conditions Tuesday and Wednesday.

“The storm system is really strengthening as it goes, and that’s usually a recipe for some heavy snowfall and a lot of wind, and that’s what we’re watching for,” said Mike Welvaert of the National Weather Service in La Crosse, Wis.

Todd Heitkamp of the National Weather Service says the storm also was expected to hit hard in Nebraska, which already reported several inches of snow by midday Monday. In New Mexico, where two people were killed in a traffic accidents blamed on slick conditions, officials told snow-clearing crews to be prepared for 12-hour shifts as the storm swept south and east.