Snowshoe Thompson and the Snowmen greeted visitors at Mormon Station State Historic Park in Genoa in January.
A storm that brought feet of snow to the Sierra and snarled roadways cleared out this weekend.
Sunny skies and temperatures in the 40s are expected this weekend before a new storm is forecast to arrive on Tuesday.
Snow telemetry at Ebbetts Pass reported 86 inches of snow, up from 28 inches before last weekend’s storm arrived. Leavitt Lake in Mono Country reported 98 inches, up from 37 a week ago.
Avalanche warnings were issued on Thursday for the high Sierra through Mono County.
Typically avalanche warnings apply to the backcountry, but just after midnight Thursday, a snowplow driver was knocked off Highway 395 and into the Walker River by one.
The CalTrans driver received a possible broken wrist in the incident near Sonora Junction around 12:48 a.m. Thursday.
“One of our crew members was in a 4-yard truck plowing in Walker Canyon when an avalanche hit his vehicle pushing it into the Walker River,” CalTrans District 9 Public Information Officer Christine Kandler said Thursday morning. “He sustained minor injuries and was transported to the hospital.”
Knadler said the avalanche was one of several to have occurred in the canyon.
Fortunately, Highway 395 was closed because there was at least one other avalanche that morning.
The two-day storm that struck the Sierra on Wednesday and Thursday resulted in snow days for Douglas school children and a delayed start on Friday.
The storm slammed southern Douglas County and most of Mono County on Thursday night.
Topaz Ranch Estates resident John Flaherty reported snow 3-4 feet in spots on the ground this morning. Markleeville reported 3 feet of snow to the National Weather Service. Bridgeport reported a snow depth of 4 feet.
Daggett Pass at the top of Kingsbury recorded 30 inches. Down in the Valley, Minden Weather Watcher Stan Kapler reported 9 inches of snow, while I reported 9.5 inches from north of Genoa.
Major routes through the Sierra, including Highway 88 over Carson Pass, were closed. Interstate 80 over Donner Summit closed from 1 p.m. Thursday through 7 a.m. Friday.
Highway 395 south of the Nevada state line remained closed on Friday morning as snowplows tried to clear the route.
The closure of Highway 395 resulted in trucks being diverted onto Highway 208 at Holbrook Junction and then onto Highway 338 in Smith Valley to Bridgeport.
A semi was reportedly stuck at Jack Wright Pass on Highway 208 on Thursday morning in Douglas County blocking the travel lanes, according to nvroads.com. Another semi was stranded in the eastbound lanes of Highway 50 just south of Spooner Junction.
Thursday’s wet heavy snow collapsed an awning in the Gardnerville Ranchos on Thursday morning.
Snow snapped tree branches and caused power outages across the county, including Ruhenstroth, Topaz Ranch Estates and Genoa, according to NVEnergy.com.
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