Snow in the Sierra – but don’t break out the skis just yet

Summer’s not even over yet – autumn begins Friday – but the Sierra Nevada already is experiencing winter weather.

The California Highway Patrol’s Sonora office reported early Thursday that State Route 108 through the Sonora Pass is closed from 26.4 miles east of Strawberry in Tuolumne County to three miles east of the US 395 junction in Mono County because of snow.

Farther north, the National Weather Service’s Sacramento office has issued a winter weather advisory through evening because snow was falling over Interstate 80 on Thursday morning.

Up to 6 inches of snow is possible at Donner Pass in Nevada County, the weather service said. “ Be prepared for winter driving conditions if you must travel over the Sierra above 6,000 feet,” its Facebook post warns.

The winter weather advisory includes the area of the Dodge Ridge ski resort. The NWS says there’s a 50 percent chance of snow and rain showers before 11 a.m., but little or no snow accumulation is expected. The chance of snow there continues through Friday.

The Dodge Ridge snow report page carries this optimistic message: “We’ve officially begun the ramp up to the 2017-18 Ski & Ride Season. The snow hasn’t quite arrived, but you can feel the chill in the air up here and the approaching winter season. As far as we’re concerned, it’s already winter and we’ll be here 7 days a week from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. getting ready for opening day.”

This story was originally published September 21, 2017 at 8:12 AM with the headline "Snow in the Sierra – but don’t break out the skis just yet."