"Life-Threatening" Blizzards Batter The West; Karachi's Coldest March Day In 43 Years; Snowstorms Hit Tibet; Europe Pounded; SSW; + Overdue CME Sparks Surprise G2 Storms

The month of February in China averaged -2.8C, well-below the average.

"Life-Threatening" Blizzards Batter The West

From mountain ridges down to the valleys, debilitating blizzards continued to slam California over the weekend.

Some 100 miles of Interstate 80 was shut down on Friday as the monster snowstorm bore down on the Sierras, and a blizzard warning was put in place covering a 300-mile stretch of the mountains.

Up to 14 feet of snow was forecast for some spots — and the storm is delivering:

As much as 10 feet has hit the mountains around Lake Tahoe, with 3 to 6 feet clipping the lake's shores and more than a foot noted in the valleys on the Sierra's eastern front, including Reno.

Many backcountry avalanche warnings have been put in place. While all visitors to Yosemite were instructed to vacate the park due to the 7 feet fast-building there.

Lake Tahoe ski resorts have said that while the storm is a temporary setback, shutting slopes, it bodes well for spring. The big dump at Palisades Tahoe, added to the 8 feet that built in February, should keep the slope open until Memorial Day (May 27).

According to National Weather Service data, many areas of the Sierra have totaled 7+ feet of snow in the 72-hours alone, including Sugar Bowl—which received 89 inches (7.42 feet), and Donner Peak—which has seen 87 inches (7.25 feet).

Andrew Schwartz, lead scientist at UC-Berkeley's Central Sierra Snow Lab said it is also likely that Tahoe has broken its 'modern' single day snowfall record: the ≈3.5 feet set back in 1989.

“Update: The snow gauge in Tahoe City is gone.” — Colin McCarthy on X

The storm has buried cars and even houses across the state, recalling scenes of last year's all-time record-breaking totals:

Snowbanks pile up in the Sierra Nevada mountains in March, 2023.

For many in the West the weekend proved a snowy one. Below were the whiteout scenes at Saturday's MLS soccer game between Salt Lake City and LAFC:

Winter storm alerts remain across many western states, with blizzard warnings still in effect for the northern and central Sierra Nevada.

GFS Total Snowfall March 4 - March 20 [tropicaltidbits.com]

Karachi's Coldest March Day In 43 Years

Over the weekend, the Pakistani city of Karachi logged its coldest March day since 1981.