As Bay Area hit by rain, Sierra sees some snow

SODA SPRINGS, Calif. (KGO) -- As rain fell in the Bay Area on Thursday, snow fell in the Sierra. The snow came in waves near Donner Summit along Interstate 80; a spurt of heavy showers, then a break, then some more. It was just enough to keep the snowplows busy.


The same was for chain controls. They were up for a time in the morning, then off, and then back up again.

In the meantime, down the hill in Truckee, it was a little too warm overnight; as in clouds that produced rain, not the many inches of snow some had predicted.

"I thought it was going to blow in a huge storm today," said Frank Rossbach with Glassforms Glassblowing. "It was, uh, I don't know, 40 mile per hour winds this morning. And then it kind of died off."

Still, business owners there know how to weather the highs and lows of a High Sierra winter.


Terry Wilson has lived and worked there for more than 30 years. And while the holidays are important to her business, it's not a make or break situation for her.

"I think there's still dark clouds, so I think there's still potential," she said with a laugh.

After all, if several years of drought have taught folks in Truckee one thing -- it's how to keep the faith.


"We have a lot more snow now than we did last year anyway," said Mindy Kramer with Treehouse Children's Clothing. "So it's just been coming every week, we've had a snowstorm, so I'm not worried that it rained."

The wind has also been a factor. A number of lifts at various ski resorts were on wind hold on Thursday.



If you plan on hitting the slopes this season, tag your photos and videos on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook with #abc7now.