SIERRA GETS MOST SNOWFALL IN 90 YEARS

by Via_Email, Monday, January 10, 2005, 04:40

String of storms gives parts of Sierra most snowfall in nearly 90 years

By Martin Griffith
ASSOCIATED PRESS
3:56 p.m. January 9, 2005

RENO, Nev. â€" A moisture-laden winter storm piled snow deeper across the Sierra Nevada, stranding an Amtrak train, knocking out the Reno airport and shutting down major highways across the mountains.

The storm was the latest in a string of powerful systems that has dumped as much as 19 feet of snow in the Sierra and 6½ feet in the Reno area since Dec. 28.

Forecasters called the series of storms the snowiest in the Reno-Lake Tahoe area since 1916.

"I've lived here for almost 40 years and I've never seen anything like it," Peter Walenta, 69, of Stateline, said Sunday. "This baby just seems to be stretching on forever. Right now I'm looking out the window and it's dumping."

Forecasters extended a winter storm warning into Tuesday across the Sierra and parts of northern Nevada, where as much as 2 more feet of snow was expected.

The latest storm had left up to 6½ feet of snow in the Sierra and 2½ feet in the Reno area.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20050109-1556-nv-sierrastorm.html