THANKS FOR JOINING US FOR THE KCRA THREE NEWS AT NOON. I'M LISA GONZALEZ, RAIN AND SNOW ACROSS OUR REGION OVERNIGHT AND INTO THE DAY. SNOW HAS BEEN COMING DOWN AND STICKING IN THE SIERRA IN SOME SPOTS. KCRA 3 METEOROLOGIST HEATHER WALDMAN IS LIVE ALONG I-80 WITH THE LOOK OF THE CONDITIONS RIGHT NOW. HEATHER, HOW'S IT LOOK? HEY LISA. WELL, THE SNOW ISN'T COMING DOWN NEARLY AS HEAVILY NOW COMPARED TO WHAT WE SAW ABOUT 12 HOURS AGO, BUT WE DO STILL HAVE CHAIN CONTROLS. WE'RE AT T ONE OF THE SPOTS WHEE FOLKS ARE PULLING OVER, STOPPING, ADDING THE CHAINS IF THEY NEED TO, AND EVERYBODY ELSE JUST KIND OF JOCKEYING FOR POSITION AS THE LANES KIND OF WIND DOWN A LITTLE BIT. SO WE'RE JUST AHEAD OF NYACK. YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE EASTBOUND LANES. WE'RE AT AN ELEVATION OF ABOUT 5400FT. SO YOU CAN SEE THE THE SHOULDERS OF THE ROAD HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF SLUSH, BUT OTHERWISE THE FREEWAY ITSELF MAINLY JUST WET. AND IT HAS BEEN FOR OUR ENTIRE DRIVE. WE DID SEE SOME SNOW ON THE ROAD, SHOULDERS AS LOW AS ABOUT 4000FT. EARLY THIS MORNING WE HAD SOME REPORTS OF ACCUMULATING SNOW AS LOW AS ABOUT 30,500FT ALONG INTERSTATE 80, BUT DOWN AT THAT ELEVATION. AT THIS POINT, JUST SOME RAIN SHOWERS GOING THROUGH. SO THE BOTTOM LINE, IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO HEAD UP OVER THE HILL DRIVING CONDITIONS ARE OKAY FOR MOST AT THIS POINT, BUT WITH CHAIN CONTROLS STILL UP, YOU SHOULD STILL EXPECT SOME DELAYS IF YOU'RE PLANNING TO MAKE IT ALL THE WAY OVER THE HILL AGAIN. THOSE CHAIN CONTROLS UP FROM NYACK ALL THE WAY UP TO DONNER SUMMIT FOR EASTBOUND LANES AND WESTBOUND LANES ON INTERSTATE 80. BUT IT LOOKS LIKE THINGS WILL CONTINUE TO IMPROVE AS FAR AS ROAD CONDITIONS GO THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. LISA, BACK TO YOU. ALL RIGHT. ALL GOOD INFORMATION TO KEEP U S UPDATED. HEATHER, THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND SNOW IN THE SIERRA ALSO LEADING TO SOME SLOPPY CONDITIONS FOR DRIVERS. I'M SURE YOU CAN SEE THE GROUND BEHIND WHERE HEATHER WAS STANDING. KCRA 3'S MELANIE WINGO SPENT THE MORNING IN LIVE TRACKER THREE DRIVING ALONG HIGHWAY 50 AND HAS A LOOK AT THE ROADS AS WE'RE ON HIGHWAY 50 RIGHT NOW, LOOKING WESTBOUND, WE'RE AT MEYERS WHERE, AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE DISTANCE, THERE'S A CHAIN CONTROL CHECKPOINT SET UP BY CALTRANS AND SOME CHAIN INSTALLERS READY TO LEND A HAND TO DRIVERS IN NEED OF CHAINS FOR THEIR VEHICLES. FOR A PRICE, OF COURSE, BEYOND THIS POINT, DRIVERS NOT ALLOWED TO PASS UNLESS THEY HAVE CHAINS OR TRACTION DEVICES ON THEIR VEHICLES OR THEIR VEHICLES, ARE EQUIPPED WITH ALL WHEEL DRIVE, AND THEY MUST ALSO HAVE GOOD SNOW OR ALL WEATHER TIRES. ACCORDING TO CHP. AND HERE'S WHY. TAKE A LOOK. THESE ARE THE CONDITIONS WE RAN INTO OVERNIGHT OVER THE PAST IN THE OVERNIGHT AND EARLY MORNING HOURS, WE SAW SNOW ACCUMULATING ON THE HIGHWAY, GETTING PACKED IN, CAKED DOWN AS CARS DROVE OVER IT, WHICH CAN REALLY LEAD TO SLICK CONDITIONS UP HERE. CALTRANS SNOW PLOWS WERE OUT OVER THE PAST ALL NIGHT, CLEARING AWAWAY WHAT THEY COULD UNTIL THE SNOW STOPS. THEY'RE GOING TO KEEP DOING THAT, TRYING TO KEEP THE ROADS CLEAR. SINCE THIS STORM SYSTEM BEGAN, WE'VE SEEN SEVERAL INCHES OF NEW SNOW UP IN THE SIERRA. REALLY GOOD BUILD UP OF SNOW ALONG THE TREES LINING THE HIGHWAY. CONDITIONS FOR DRIVERS MADE SAFER WHEN EVERYONE FOLLOWS THE POLICY OF KEEPING SPEEDS TO NO HIGHER THAN 30MPH, WHEN CHAIN CONTROLS ARE IN EFFECT. ALTHOUGH AT THIS CHECKPOINT WHERE WE ARE THIS MORNING, THEY'RE ADVISING DRIVERS NOT TO GO ANY FASTER THAN ABOUT 25MPH. NOW, IF YOU'RE HEADED UP INTO THE SIERRA, HEADED EASTBOUND FROM, SAY, THE SACRAMENTO OR CENTRAL VALLEY LOCAL CHAINS, YOU'RE GOING TO PROBABLY ENCOUNTER A CHAIN CONTROL CHECKPOINT JUST BEYOND PLACERVILLE AS WHERE WE HIT ONE THIS MORNING. ALTHOUGH CALTRANS CREWS WILL BE MONITORING THE WEATHER CONDITIONS AND THEY'LL ADJUST THE ELEVATION OF THAT CHAIN CONTROL CHECKPOINT DEPENDING ON THE WEATHER CONDITIONS. REPORTING FROM MEYERS MELANIE WINGO NOW BACK TO YOU. ALL RIGHT. LET'S SEE WHAT THE RADAR IS DOING RIGHT NOW. CONTINUING OUR TEAM COCOVERAGE WITH METEOROLOGIST DIRK VERDOORN DIRK, WHERE WE'RE STILL SEEING SOME SNOW AS WELL AS SOME RAIN. LET'S TAKE A LOOK HERE. RADAR BEHIND ME SHOWING YOU IT'S SPOTTY IN NATURE, BUT WE DO HAVE SOME PRETTY GOOD LITTLE POCKETS OF HEAVIER PRECIPITATION COMING DOWN. WE'RE GOING TO START THINGS OFF BY TAKING A LOOK HERE ON I-80. AS WE'RE GOING UP THE ROAD TOWARDS DONNER SUMMIT, YOU ARE GOING TO RUN INTO SOME SNOW. LOOKING AT THE ROAD ITSELF, THOUGH EARLIER IT WAS JUST CAKED IN THE SNOW RIGHT NOW IT'S LOOKING PRETTY GOOD. IT'S WET, BUT AT LEAST IT'S NOT ICE COVERED RIGHT NOW. TAKING A LOOK AT WHERE WE HAVE SOME HEAVIER SHOWERS ALONG HIGHWAY 50 CAMERON PARK. AS YOU'RE WORKING YOUR WAY TOWARDS PLACERVILLE, YOU'RE GOGOING TO RUN INTO THAT ALSO ALONG HIGHWAY 49 TO PLYMOUTH. WE JUST HAVE THIS LINE OF SHOWERS THERE AND AGAIN, MODERATE TO EVEN HEAVY AT TIMES. SCATTERED SHOWERS FROM WALLACE TO FARMINGTON, COPPEROPOLIS TO OAKDALE AND EVEN AROUND STOCKTON AND LODI. WE'RE STILL HOLDING ON JUST SOME SCATTERED RAIN SHOWERS THAT ARE ALL MOVING BASICALLY FROM THE WEST TO THE EAST AS THIS WEATHER SYSTEM CONTINUES TO PUSH ON THROUGH. SO HOW MUCH SNOW HAVE WE RECEIVED SO FAR? LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE NUMBERS. THESE ARE UPDATED FROM BOREAL TEN INCHES OF NEW SNOW BASE OF 35IN PALACE SHADES EIGHT INCHES OF NEW SNOW WITH A BASE OF 30IN HEAVENLY, THREE INCHES OF SNOW. AND THAT'S THAT WHOLE WEST SIDE OF THE SIERRA, EAST SIDE OF THE SIERRA THING DIDN'T GET AS MUCH ON THE EAST SIDE. IT WAS REALLY THE WEST SLOPE THAT GOT THE HEAVIER AMOUNTS OF SNOW. KIRKWOOD 11IN WITH 35 INCH BASE AND DODGE RIDGE 15IN WITH A 12 INCH BASE RIGHT NOW. SO, SO WE ARE LOOKING AT CONDITIONS THAT ARE GOING TO STAY ACTIVE FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS. WE'LL HAVE A BREAK, BUT THERE'S MORE RAIN AND SNOW IN THE FORECAST AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT COMING UP. NOW BACK OVER TO YOU. ALL RIGHT DIRK THANK YOU. AND IT'S BEEN ONE YEAR SINCE THE HISTORIC STORMS HIT OUR AREA. NOW WE'RE TAKING A LOOK BACK AT THE LESSONS LEARNED MOVING FORWARD TONIGHT IN OUR FIVE PART SERIES, A LOOK AT THE CHANGES SMUD IS MAKING TO BE BETTER PREPARED FOR OUTAGES. PLUS NEW NUMBERS ON THE SCOPE OF LAST YEAR'S STORMS. STORM
