Blizzard conditions closes roads, cancels events

In the interest of safety for presenters and the traveling audience Explore Tahoe has canceled the program for Thursday night.

The Regional Wildland Fire Exercise scheduled for March 25 has been canceled because of the weather.

Caltrans is blasting on Highway 50 at Echo Summit. Highway 89 remains closed around Emerald Bay. Travel restrictions are in effect for most of the roads in, out and around the Lake Tahoe Basin. Interstate 80 was closed at the state line because of a big-rig accident.

Caltrans clears the Y in South Tahoe on March 24. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Snow has been coming down in a horizontal pattern since about noon in South Lake Tahoe, with accumulations in a two-hour period of about 3 inches.

Sierra-at-Tahoe has closed for the day. Mt. Rose never opened.

Placer County has activated its Emergency Operations Center.

In Gardnerville Thursday morning sustained winds were clocked at 25 mph, with a gust of 61 mph.

According to the National Weather Service, a winter storm warning is in effect until 11am Friday.

Reporting at noon March 24 the NWS has the following snow totals for the previous 24 hours:

• Heavenly — 14 inches
• Alpine Meadows — 19 inches
• Kirkwood — 24 inches.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report