Winter Weather Advisory Issued for Up to 12 Inches of Snow and 50 MPH Gusts This Weekend

Up to 12 inches of snow is forecast along the highest peaks this weekend under winter weather advisories from the National Weather Service, with gusts as high as 50 mph and the heaviest snow expected late Saturday night. Forecasters are telling drivers to plan on slippery roads, and for anyone heading over the passes the bigger question is likely to be which level of chain control goes up and whether their vehicle is exempt from it.

Snow Totals By Elevation

Four advisories from three offices run from 11 a.m. ET Saturday to 10 a.m. ET Sunday, a window that takes in the switch from daylight saving time early Sunday morning.

The NWS Reno advisories split the eastern side of the range by elevation. In the Greater Lake Tahoe Area, including Truckee, South Lake Tahoe, Tahoe City, Incline Village, Stateline, Glenbrook and Markleeville, snow is limited to elevations above 7,000 feet, with 2 to 5 inches and up to 9 inches along the highest peaks. Gusts there could reach 50 mph. Mono County, covering Mammoth Lakes, Lee Vining, Bridgeport and Coleville, gets 3 to 6 inches above 8,000 feet and up to 12 inches on the highest peaks, with gusts to 45 mph that could bring down tree branches.

NWS Sacramento covers the Northern Sierra above 7,000 feet, including Highway 50 and Interstate 80, with up to 8 inches and up to 12 inches at the highest peaks, plus up to 2 inches possible down to 6,000 feet. Snow levels start at 7,000 to 8,000 feet on Saturday and lower to 6,000 to 7,000 feet Saturday night, with the heaviest snow from Saturday evening into Sunday. Carson Pass, Kingvale and Donner Peak are inside the advisory.

Farther south on the western slope, NWS Hanford expects 4 to 7 inches between 7,500 and 9,500 feet and up to 11 inches above 9,500 feet across Yosemite outside the valley, Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks, the upper San Joaquin River and Kaiser to Rodgers Ridge. Tuolumne Meadows, Wawona, Shaver Lake, Huntington Lake, Lodgepole and Giant Forest all sit inside it.

How California Chain Controls Work

Caltrans posts chain controls in three levels, and the difference between them decides whether a car keeps moving or stops at the side of the road. Under R-1, chains are required on everything except passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks under 6,000 pounds gross weight that have snow tires on at least two drive wheels. R-2 drops that exemption for most cars and leaves it only for four-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive vehicles with snow-tread tires on all four wheels. R-3 requires chains or traction devices on every vehicle, with no exceptions.

For Caltrans, a snow tire is identified by its sidewall, which must carry MS, M/S, M+S or the words “mud and snow.” Many all-season tires on new cars carry an M+S marking, so a crossover that left the dealer on its original tires may already qualify under R-1 and, with all-wheel drive, under R-2.

AWD Still Has To Carry Chains