Sacramento, California: Sierra Snow Brings Chain Controls on I-80, Highway 50 and Highway 88, Two Passes Closed

The first Sierra Nevada storm of the season slowed the main routes east out of Sacramento on Sunday, with chain controls in force on Interstate 80, Highway 50 and Highway 88 and two high passes closed by snow.

Snow showers began at the higher elevations on Saturday morning, October 31, and the National Weather Service office in Sacramento kept a Winter Weather Advisory in effect from 8 a.m. Saturday through Sunday morning for areas above 7,000 feet. Forecasters called for up to 8 inches of snow in the advisory area and up to 12 inches at the highest peaks, with as much as 2 inches possible down to 6,000 feet as snow levels fell overnight.

Chains on the three Sacramento routes

Caltrans listed chains as required on all vehicles except four-wheel-drive vehicles with snow tires on all four wheels on Highway 50 from Twin Bridges to Meyers, the climb from the Sacramento Valley toward South Lake Tahoe. On Interstate 80, the Donner Pass route, chains were required eastbound from Kingvale to Truckee and westbound from Truckee to a point 2.5 miles east of the Highway 20 junction, and all westbound trucks had to stop at the brake check area west of Nyack.

KCRA 3 in Sacramento reported chain controls on all three routes on Sunday morning. By Sunday afternoon, controls were still in place on Highway 88, the Carson Pass route, from east of Ham's Station to five miles west of Picketts Junction, where snow and ice covered the road.

Two passes closed

Caltrans QuickMap showed Monitor Pass on State Route 89 and Sonora Pass on State Route 108 fully closed on Sunday because of snow accumulation. Both are high routes that close for the season when winter weather sets in, and drivers crossing the Sierra were told to check current conditions before setting out, because slush, ice and low visibility made the open passes slow going.

More weather on the way

The Weather Service said additional snowfall on Sunday would be minor, with a few flurries possible down to 5,500 feet south of Highway 50, and conditions slowly drying out during the afternoon. Its Sunday morning update called the weekend a damp end to October for interior Northern California and pointed to more light rain on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a second Pacific system bringing back cloud cover, lower snow levels and another round of scattered mountain snow and valley showers.

For Sacramento area drivers, the practical advice from Caltrans is unchanged every winter: carry chains, check QuickMap or the state road conditions line before leaving, and expect the 25 to 30 mile per hour pace that chain controls impose on the passes.