A mess tonight in the Sierra under a blizzard warning right now roads shut down on Interstate 80 and Highway 50. we are tracking dangerous conditions with a lack of visibility Avalanche control and spin outs being reported good evening we have a lot to cover I'm Chris Thomas I'm Laura painter thank you for joining us the message tonight avoid driving in the.
Sierra if you don't have to travel we've got team coverage tonight as the Sierra remains under a blizzard warning chief meteorologist Monica Woods is tracking the storm but we start tonight with the danger on the roads it's a mess wherever you go this is a live look at I-80 just horrible conditions ABC 10's Luke Clary has been following those conditions all.
Evening and Luke what are you seeing and learning right now Laura Chris well as you can see there seems to be a bit of a break in the snow right now where we're standing at Applegate from here I-80 is closed all the way to the Nevada state line and along the way to this point on I-80 we.
Saw dozens of big rigs and several Passenger cars drivers hoping that they would be able to make their way into the mountains but based on what we have seen so far it could be a while with Interstate 80 closed at the Applegate exit big rigs waiting by the Dozen on each side of the road for much of the afternoon the heavy snow piling.
Up as quickly as crews could work to plow it and drivers to shovel it mother nature is stronger than we are that's the way to look at it this couple wanted to go skiing this family a winter getaway and Truckee with the grandson we thought we'd get ahead of the storm and so we could just you know enjoy the snow but we didn't.
Make it we didn't make it before the roads closed you just never know sometimes they open it sometime they close on me in the end they were among the many people turned away by CHP and Caltrans Crews who only LED people through who lived nearby and could prove it with ID and have the proper equipment to do it.
This is my first time with these type so I guess make sure you know how to use them Aidan sumada and his friend lived just a few miles up the hill this is still a bit extreme I've only seen it this bad once winning their struggle with the chains they're free to go home as officials urge other drivers just to head back down out of the snow.
And I spent some time chatting with one of the workers here with Caltrans who was checking IDs letting people who live nearby go to their homes and turning others away he said that he was encouraging a lot of people just to go back down the hill to Auburn get a hot meal and wait it out but again seeing all of those big rigs along the sides of.
I-80 it really just kind of underscores how much Commerce traverses the mountain passes on this uh this roadway and understandable why so many big rig truckers are eager to get back out on the road our understanding though from Caltrans tonight is that will not be happening at least not tonight back to you yeah Luke Interstate 80 really a.
Lifeline for our Commerce in our country and it's exactly situations like these to always have emergency supplies in your car we're talking about blankets Waters water and chains of course like some of those folks out there Luke Larry thank you and be safe well now the chief meteorologist Monica Woods how's that more winning commute looking Monica it's.
Going to look a lot like what we've been seeing throughout the day for the Sierra now and uh opposition we see clear skies throughout the valley and that's really how the evening has been playing out really heavy snow higher up in the Sierra the valley dry and you can see as we zoom in where Luke was positioned along I-80 just down the hill here it is.
Dry but once you start heading up the hill this is why I-80 still closed we have heavy snow at times continuing to fall along Highway 50 periods of closure still have the Avalanche controls in effect and that road still closed as well 88 89 124. I could keep going on with every road because basically we're looking at closures and chain controls.
Throughout you can see snow still falling in the motherload all the way through the central Sierra as well along I-5 by the way if you're headed Northbound you're going to encounter chain controls up towards reading and Beyond towards the Oregon border rain starts to pick up for the valley come our way by about 2 A.M that's going to.
Take us right through the morning commute with another chance of thunderstorm storms for tomorrow you can see it in line here all the areas shaded in green and basically we're looking at the potential for some hail strong downpours as well as some lightning blizzard warning in effect through 4 a.m Avalanche warning in effect through.
Wednesday morning as well we get into our winter storm warning in effect that will continue through Wednesday and for the coast we're going to see that winter weather advisory in place through four o'clock tomorrow afternoon this is what it looked like out at Solano County how about that Nicholas submitting that and it was just a beautiful sight a lot of.
Folks getting excited about that cold air dropping low snow levels then again this continues into our Tuesday more on what we can expect for the rest of the week coming up in just a moment sounds good Monica thank you I want to show you this just look at all that heavy snow we shot this video this morning as the storm moved in and conditions only got.
Worse it's not just I-80 getting hit with the snow and closures this is how things were looking along Highway 50 earlier today and don't expect improvements anytime soon right now eastbound lanes are closed at Pollock Pines and Westbound lanes are closed at Myers due to Avalanche control and cars spinning.
Out also tonight Highway 88 is closed to eastbound traffic at Dew Drop in the Pioneer area ABC 10 talked with people about how they're dealing with the low snow tonight low snow in Foothill neighborhoods is a big story snow accumulations building up on roads cars and homes near downtown Placerville.
Headed up Highway 50. 30 years and I got into it because uh up here during the winter there wasn't a lot of work when there was always three feet of snow on the ground so the opportunity was there and I jumped at it the weather is ideal for skiers and other snow lovers it also means good business for chain installers like Steve Cleef who have worked out.
There for decades personally I would say don't come out if you don't know how to drive in it if you do know how to drive in it chain up and go over there because Caltrans keeps the road pretty clear and they monitor it if it's if it's too dangerous they'll shut it down and seeing a lot of accidents that's for sure people not putting their chains on.
Right people driving too fast just not being cautious of the circumstance meanwhile in Pine Grove business was booming at a local market as people came in to stock up on food and supplies cat food dog food our Deli is open we're open 24 seven there are some other stores in town that are closed so we are open and.
Available it was also a snow day for schools meaning a day off for high school students like Connor Clinton and Maddie Nicholson I'm excited I mean it means more time off school for us I really like it because it doesn't normally snow at my house I live a little bit lower so this is probably like the first time I've seen snow at my.
House in like at least a few years for others The Dumping of snow isn't keeping them from enjoying some ice cream or wearing their shorts it's just an everyday thing no matter what snow don't bother me none a reminder in Amador County Highway 88 is closed to eastbound traffic at Dew Drop in the Pioneer area Caltrans urges drivers to take an.
Alternate route and thank you to Connie for sharing this video with us tonight the snow was falling in Auburn today A beautiful sight if you're inside right keep in mind many schools are closing because of the weather you can visit our website abc10.com for the full list of school closures we'll also keep you posted on.
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