RENO, Nev. (AP) - The Latest on the winter storm in the Sierra and northern Nevada (all times local PST):
3:35 p.m.
Another nearly 3 feet of new snow fell on Sierra Nevada ski resorts in a 24-hour period, and the city of Reno recorded one of its snowiest days in at least 80 years as the latest in a series of winter storms made its way through the region.
The National Weather Service said the 7.6 inches of snow recorded at Reno-Tahoe International Airport Monday morning was the 17th largest 24-hour snowfall since it started keeping records in 1937.
More than 23 feet of snow has fallen since Jan. 1 at several Sierra resorts, including Heavenly Mountain at South Lake Tahoe, California and Kirkwood Mountain Resort south of Lake Tahoe.
Stephanie Myers, a spokeswoman for Vail Resorts, which owns both resorts, said it’s the snowiest January ever at both of those resorts. She says more than 31 feet of snow has fallen at Kirkwood - a total of 381 inches - since Nov. 1. She says 365 inches has fallen since then at Heavenly Mountain. Northstar near Truckee, California has received 283 inches this month, and 376 inches for the season.
Schools were cancelled through the Reno-Tahoe region on Monday, but the snow had melted off most Reno streets by Monday afternoon.
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2:55 p.m.
Rain and mud left behind by a weekend winter storm has forced the closure of several roads in Death Valley National Park and resulted in a power outage at Park Service headquarters in Furnace Creek, California, about 150 miles west of Las Vegas.
Park Service spokeswoman Abby Wines said Monday that workers have been dealing with a power outage since Sunday.
The problem is affecting the staff’s ability to use the internet and respond to visitor questions.
The park’s hotels and major attractions remain open, with power. Major park thoroughfares also remain open, including California Highway 190 and Badwater Road.
Wines says the normally dry Amargosa River was flowing Monday across Harry Wade and West Side roads.
She says Saline Valley’s south pass just outside the park’s western boundary is currently blocked by a vehicle stuck in a 3-foot snow drift, and the West Side, Mustard Canyon and Devils Golf Course roads are closed due to mud inside the park that sits in the Mojave Desert.
(Editor’s note: This item is updated from a previous version to clarify rain and mud caused closures in park, snow drift is on a pass outside the park’s boundary).
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9:50 a.m.
Heavy snow at Lake Tahoe triggered an avalanche that shut down a California state highway and caused a roof to collapse at a liquor store in South Lake Tahoe.
The California Highway Patrol says two cars were briefly trapped but no one was injured when an avalanche covered a 200-foot stretch of Highway 89 with up to 12 feet of snow shortly after 1 a.m. Monday between the Squaw Valley ski resort and Tahoe City, California.
At South Lake Tahoe, Fire Chief Jeff Meston says the roof collapsed and broke a sprinkler pipe at a liquor store at about 2:45 a.m.
No one was hurt. But Meston told Lake Tahoe News there was a “ton of water on the street” when crews arrived. He says local utility workers had to dig through more than a foot of snow to find the main shut-off valve.
Animals at a nearby pet hospital have been evacuated while officials inspect neighboring businesses.
The National Weather Service reports that 30 inches of snow fell at the Heavenly ski resort at South Lake Tahoe between 6 a.m. Sunday and 6 a.m. Monday. More than 7 feet has fallen there over the past five days.
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