California Blizzard Snarls Traffic While Texas Continues to Burn

(Bloomberg) -- The worst conditions have passed, but California and the rest of the US West face more dangerous wind gusts and deep snow through the first part of the week.

Meanwhile, high winds have raised fire risks across the central US, including Texas, where the state’s largest fire keeps burning and is only partially under control. 

It’s likely that 4 feet to 8 feet (1.2 to 2.4 meters) of snow has fallen across California’s Sierra Nevada range, closing roads over the mountains, with another foot or more on the way, said David Rowe, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Sacramento.  

A wind gust of 145 miles (233 kilometers) per hour was recorded at the Palisades Tahoe ski resort northwest of Tahoe City, according to the weather service.

Many roads between California and Nevada have been closed, including parts of Interstate 80 and state highways 4 and 88, the California Department of Transportation said on its website. Amtrak has canceled trains through the region, according to social media posts.

“It is definitely not as bad as it’s been for the past two days,” Rowe said, but the additional snow “will impact travel and recovery efforts from the blizzard.”

Across the US, the storm system has led to snow and high winds through much of the West and driven warm, dry gusts from Illinois to Texas. Blizzard, avalanche and winter storm warnings are out across nine states, while red flag fire warnings are posted for 11. 

The Smokehouse Creek fire in Texas is the largest in the state’s history and has consumed more than 1 million acres (405,000 hectares), according to Texas A&M Forest Service. 

Dry gusts up to 50 miles per hour will sweep across Texas and the Plains through Sunday, said William Churchill, a forecaster with the US Weather Prediction Center. More than 2 million people face critical fire conditions across much of West Texas and parts of New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma and Kansas, according to the US Storm Prediction Center.  

“Any fires ongoing could intensify and any new fires could be sparked,” he said. Conditions are forecast to improve some Monday, but it will still be dry and gusty in many places.

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