Snow making a comeback in Lake Tahoe

Snow. You know, that frozen, fluffy white stuff that covers the mountains around Lake Tahoe? With less than stellar snowpacks over the last several winters, many might have forgotten what snowstorms really could look like in South Lake Tahoe. This week, however, memories are being refreshed with a blizzard impacting the Sierra Nevada that could bring up to seven feet of snow to the lake.

Highways and roads have been closed. Schools have been closed. Government and officers have been shut down for the safety of their employees due to the impact of so much snow in such a short amount of time.

As of 7:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, Heavenly Mountain Resort reported four feet of snow in the previous 24 hours, and that was before a whole day of nonstop snow. Caltrans reports that on I-80 they've had 61 inches of snow since 9:00 p.m. Monday. That interstate is still closed at this time.

There was an avalanche over at Alpine Meadows Tuesday caused by blasting of the snowpack, with a wall of snow hitting some homes. No injuries reported.

"Life threatening snowfall with blizzard conditions through tonight," the National Weather Service (NWS) in Reno posted on their Facebook page Tuesday. "Multiple feet of snow has fallen already with multiple more feet expected tonight. Most roads are closed due to white out conditions and avalanche danger. Just Stay Home! This is a serious situation, if you get stuck in the snow rescuers may be unable to reach you."

NWS says the rare blizzard warning is in place until 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, with the storm warning going until 4:00 a.m. Thursday. Another 6-10" inches of snow Tuesday night is expected, and 5-9" on Wednesday.