[MAIL] A winter storm packing powerful winds, aided by what's being termed an 'atmospheric river,' is bringing heavy rain and several feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada.
The storm shut down mountain highways, toppled trees and triggered flood and avalanche warnings on Saturday from the coast of Northern California to Lake Tahoe.
More than 250 miles of the Sierra remained under a winter storm warning at least until early Monday from north of Reno to south of Yosemite National Park.
As much as 4 feet of snow is expected to fall by the end of the weekend in the upper elevations around Lake Tahoe, and as much as 6 feet in more remote parts of the Sierra to the north and south.
A 70-mile stretch of eastbound U.S. Interstate 80 was closed 'due to zero visibility' from Colfax, California to the Nevada state line, transportation officials said while tire chains were required on much of the rest of I-80 in the mountains from Reno toward Sacramento.
An 'atmospheric river' is a plume of moisture which comes in off the Pacific Ocean and is similar to a fire hose as it fires moisture into one specific area for an extended period of time leading to heavy rain or snow, explained CNN.
Nicolaas Pieter Johannes Janse van Rensburg, 1864-1926: