(KTXL) — An avalanche warning has been issued for the Lake Tahoe region in the midst of Tuesdays strong winter storm, according to the National Weather Service Reno Station.
The NWS issued the backcountry warning for the area between Yuba Pass near Highway 49 and north of Ebbetts Pass near Highway 4 through Wednesday morning.
A winter storm warning will be in effect until 10 a.m. on Wednesday, according to NWS Sacramento.
Between one to three feet of snow are expected to fall at pass level and wind gusts of 70 miles-per-hour will be heading south to southwest.
At 6:20 a.m., the California Highway Patrol Truckee Office issued chain controls in the Donner Lake area.
Those heading westbound will see chain controls from the Donner Lake Interchange to Rainbow and those heading eastbound will needs chains from Kingvale to the Donner Lake Interchange.
At 7:30 a.m., the CHP lifted the chain control on I-80 near Donner Lake over Donner Summit.
The NWS is discouraging any travel in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada and cautions that travelers may experience:
- Near white out conditions
- major travel delays
- road closures
- chain controls
