Sierra snow travel: Chain controls in effect on Interstate 80, Highway 50

LIVE AT 10 P.M. WE BEGIN WITH THE SECOND NIGHT OF WET WEATHER HERE IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, INCLUDING HEAVIER SNOW IN THE SIERRA. THIS IS A LOOK AT CONDITIONS ALONG I-80 NEAR KINGVALE. THIS WAS EARLIER TONIGHT WHERE PEOPLE WERE FORCED TO TAKE SOME EXTRA TIME ON THE ROADS. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US HERE AT TEN. I’M ANDREA FLORES AND I’M KURTIS MING. WE WANT TO SHOW YOU A LIVE LOOK AT I-80. NOW, THIS IS NEAR DONNER SUMMIT TONIGHT. RIGHT NOW, CHAINS ARE REQUIRED FROM KINGVALE TO THE DONNER LAKE INTERCHANGE. CHAIN CONTROL IS LIKELY TO STAY IN EFFECT UNTIL TOMORROW MORNING. AND HERE’S A LOOK AT CONDITIONS ALONG HIGHWAY 50. THIS IS AT MEYERS. CHAINS ARE REQUIRED ON HIGHWAY 50 FROM THREE MILES EAST OF KYBURZ TO MYERS IN EL DORADO COUNTY. AND WE’RE TRACKING THE SNOW FALLING ACROSS THE SIERRA TONIGHT. ANDRES VALLE IS STANDING BY ON INTERSTATE 80. BUT WE WANT TO START WITH KCRA 3 METEOROLOGIST. HEATHER WALDMAN. SO, HEATHER, WHERE IS THE STORM SYSTEM RIGHT NOW? YEAH, THAT SNOW HAS BEEN FALLING STEADILY FOR THE LAST FEW HOURS, AND WE’VE ACTUALLY BEEN WATCHING THE SNOW LEVEL COME DOWN. ALL THE WHILE, IT’S JUST BEEN SOGGY IN THE FOOTHILLS ALL DAY, AND THE VALLEY HAS BEEN IN AND OUT OF SOME OF THAT LIGHT RAIN AND DRIZZLE. LET’S GO NORTH TO SOUTH HERE. QUINCY, PORTOLA, LA PORTE, SEEING THAT LIGHT RAIN. BUT IT IS CHILLY. TEMPERATURES TODAY IN THE 40S AT BEST. UP THERE IN THE MOUNTAINS. HIT AND MISS. RAIN SHOWERS FROM YUBA CITY DOWN TOWARDS ARBUCKLE AND ESPARTO AND WINTERS JUST ENOUGH TO WET THE ROADS. WE’RE ONLY PICKING UP A FEW HUNDREDTHS OF AN INCH OF RAIN OUT OF ANY OF THIS, BUT THOSE SHOWERS EXTEND DOWN INTO THE EAST BAY. A LITTLE BIT OF WET WEATHER LEFT OVER THERE IN FAIRFIELD. IT’S BEEN RELATIVELY DRY FROM STOCKTON TO ESCALON INTO MODESTO AND PATTERSON FOR MOST OF THIS EVENING. BUT YOU GO UP THE HILL INTO SONORA JACKSON, ANGELS CAMP THAT’S WHERE YOU’RE SEEING SOME OF THAT LIGHT RAINFALL. THIS IS ECHO SUMMIT RIGHT NOW. THAT’S A FREEZE FRAME, BUT YOU CAN SEE SOME SNOW BUILT UP ON THE ROADS. WE DO HAVE CHAIN CONTROLS AND YOU SEE THE DELAYS HERE, ESPECIALLY ON THE EASTBOUND LANES, THE YELLOWS REPRESENTING SOME OF THAT SLOWER TRAFFIC AREAS IN RED. THAT’S WHERE CARS LIKELY HAVING TO STOP, PULL OVER, PUT THE CHAINS ON AND KEEP GOING. NOT SEEING MUCH IN THE WAY OF SNOW AT LAKE LEVEL AROUND TAHOE. MAYBE SOME WET SNOW JUST BARELY REACHING THE GROUND, BUT IT’S NOT REALLY STICKING. HERE’S WHERE YOU’RE GOING TO GET YOUR DELAYS FROM KINGVALE UP OVER DONNER SUMMIT AND INTO TRUCKEE. EVERYBODY’S IN THE RED IN THE EAST AND THE WESTBOUND LANES. THERE’S ONE MORE LOOK AT DONNER SUMMIT FOR YOU, AND THAT’S WHY THINGS ARE SLOW GOING AT THE MOMENT. ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL TONIGHT LOOKING AT 4 TO 8IN OVER DONNER SUMMIT. SIMILAR TOTALS OVER ECHO SUMMIT UP TO AN ADDITIONAL FOOT OVER EBBETTS PASS AND SONORA PASS. WE’LL TALK ABOUT ADDITIONAL RAINFALL, AND OF COURSE WE’LL LOOK AHEAD TO WHEN THINGS DRY OUT IN A FEW MINUTES. SOUNDS GOOD. HEATHER, THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND AS HEATHER JUST MENTIONED, THAT SNOW IS MAKING SIERRA TRAVEL TOUGH. KCRA 3’S ANDRES VALLE IS IN THE SIERRA TRACKING THE CONDITIONS FROM INSIDE. LIVE TRACKER THREE. YEAH GUYS. SO WE’RE CURRENTLY HERE IN I-80 AT KINGVALE. WE’RE ACTUALLY TRYING TO LOOP OUR WAY BACK ONTO THOSE WESTBOUND LANES, BUT IT’S REALLY SLOW MOVING. SO THIS IS THE AREA WHERE A LOT OF CALTRANS CREWS ARE STOPPING PEOPLE MAKING SURE THEY HAVE CHAINS, AND IF THEY DON’T, THEY TURN THEM AROUND TO GO DOWN THE HILL DOWN TO A LOWER ELEVATION. SO RIGHT NOW WE’RE ABOUT 6000FT, AS YOU CAN SEE, RIGHT IN FRONT OF US IS A SEMI TRUCK. THE ROADS ARE COMPLETELY SNOW COVERED AS OF RIGHT NOW. WE TAKE IT OVER TO OUR ROOF CAMERA. YOU CAN SEE HOW MUCH SNOW IS BUILT BEHIND US AND ALSO THE SEMI TRUCKS. ALSO HAVING TO TURN AROUND AS WELL. BUT AS WE TAKE YOU BACK OVER TO THOSE, WHAT WE’RE SEEING RIGHT IN FRONT OF US, THERE IS A LONG LINE ON THOSE WESTBOUND LANES HEADING OVER THE HILL RIGHT NOW. AND SO THIS IS AN AREA WHERE CALTRANS IS AGAIN CHECKING THOSE PEOPLE IN CASE THEY HAVE THOSE CHAINS. BUT LET’S SHOW YOU VIDEO THAT WE GATHERED FROM EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON. THIS THIS EVENING, I SHOULD SAY FROM WHEN THE TRAFFIC WAS A LOT SLOWER ON INTERSTATE 80. THIS IS WHEN CHAIN CONTROLS OFFICIALLY WENT UP RIGHT AROUND 7:30 P.M. THERE WAS A LONG LINE OF VEHICLES BEING STOPPED ON THE EASTBOUND LANES OF I-80 AT KINGVALE AND CALTRANS. CREWS WERE STATIONED ALONG THE SHOULDER OF THE INTERSTATE, WARNING DRIVERS OF ICY ROAD CONDITIONS AND TO TAKE IT SLOW. NOW, MANY DRIVERS HAD TO STOP AT THE SHELL GAS STATION TO BUY CHAINS BEFORE CONTINUING ON THE INTERSTATE. NEXT IS BY SOME CHAINS AND INSTALL THEM REAL QUICK AND THEN HOPEFULLY BE ON OUR WAY. NOPE. I’M KIND OF SURPRISED. I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE RAIN. SO THIS IS AWESOME. WE WERE WE WERE TRYING TO BEAT IT, BUT WE GOT HELD UP IN SACRAMENTO. BUT IT’S FINE ADVICE GOING INTO, YOU KNOW, THIS WINTER SEASON, I GUESS JUST DRIVE, DRIVE SLOWLY. AND YOU KNOW, WATCH OUT FOR THE TRUCK DRIVERS. AND YOU DON’T NEED TO CARRY CHAINS. WE SELL THEM RIGHT HERE. AND YEAH SO THAT SHELL GAS STATION ACTUALLY STAYS OPEN LATE WHEN CHAIN CONTROLS ARE IN EFFECT. BUT AS YOU CAN SEE RIGHT NOW IT IS SLOW MOVING ON THOSE WESTBOUND LANES OF INTERSTATE 80, AS WELL AS THOSE EASTBOUND LANES OF INTERSTATE 80. SO THAT’S THE LONG LINE THAT YOU SEE ALONG THOSE STREETS, ALL THOSE CARS AND TRUCKS STOPPED RIGHT NOW AS CALTRANS CREWS ARE CHECKING FOR THOSE CHAINS. LET’S SHOW YOU THAT ROOFTOP CAMERA AS WELL. AS YOU CAN SEE, A LOT OF THESE SEMI TRUCKS HAVE PULLED OVER ALONG THE WESTBOUND LANES OF INTERSTATE 80 AS WELL. SO WE KNOW SO FAR THAT CHAIN CONTROLS WILL MORE THAN LIKELY BE IN EFFECT THROUGHOUT THE REST OF TONIGHT. WE’VE SEEN CALTRANS CREWS TREATING THOSE ROADWAYS, PLOWING THE SNOW AS WELL OUT OF THE INTERSTATE. BUT FOR THE MOST PART, AGAIN, THINGS ARE LOOKING REALLY SLOW RIGHT NOW. IF YOU’RE TRAVELING IN AND OUT OF THE SIERRA, IF YOU ARE COMING UP HERE, BRING THOSE CHAINS WITH YOU. INSTALL THEM, OF COURSE, AT THOSE CHAIN CONTROL LOCATIONS, IF YOU DON’T HAVE THEM, YOU CAN BUY THEM AT THAT SHELL GAS STATION AT KINGVALE. BUT AGAIN, IT’S GOING TO TAKE YOU QUITE A BIT OF TIME BECAUSE A LOT OF THE TRAFFIC IS STOPPED. AND REMEMBER, THE SPEED LIMIT IS ALSO ONLY 30MPH, WHEN CHAIN CONTROLS ARE IN EFFECT. WE’RE LIVE HERE IN LIVE TRACKER THREE ON THE KCRA THREE NEWS. YEAH, AND YOU CAN SEE SOME ISSUES WITH THE LANE DISTINCTION DUE TO THAT SNOW ON THE HIGHWAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT. LOOK AT THE INTERSTATE AND TURNING AGAIN TO CONDITIONS ON HIGHWAY 50. THIS WAS EARLIER TONIGHT IN EL DORADO COUNTY. CALTRANS WAS OUT EARLY CLEARING THE ROADS AFTER WHAT WAS MOSTLY A PRETTY RAINY DAY ALONG HIGHWAY 50. AND DRIVERS ARE TAKING IT EASY. IT’S A LITTLE TOUGH DRIVING SOMETIMES, AND THEN IT MAKES A HAZARDOUS TRIP FOR EVERYBODY ELSE. GOING BOTH WAYS. HEADING INTO THE SEASON, YOU DEFINITELY WANT, YOU KNOW, ALL WHEEL DRIVE, FOUR WHEEL DRIVE, AND NOT JUST THAT YOU’D WANT, YOU KNOW, CHAINS OR SNOW TIRES. NOW TO HIGHWAY FOUR IN CALAVERAS COUNTY. IT WAS SNOWING THERE PRETTY MUCH ALL DAY LONG. WE CAPTURED THESE IMAGES IN TAMARACK. FAMILIES WERE SHOCKED TO SEE HOW MUCH SNOW FELL TODAY. I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS A LOT, ESPECIALLY FOR OCTOBER. IT’S IT’S A LITTLE EARLY IN THE SEASON TO BE SNOWING THIS HARD. SO HELP US SHOW THE WEATHER. SHARE YOUR PHOTOS AND VIDEOS OF THE STORMS. IT COULD END UP ON TELEVISION LIKE CLAUDETTE JUUL WHO SHARED THIS PHOTO OF THE CLOUDS AND WOODLAN NOT RAINING AT THE TIME, BUT THE ROADS THERE WERE WET. AND CHECK OUT THIS PHOTO FROM PAM GOODLEY. THIS IS THE FRESH SNOW AT THE ROYAL GORGE CROSS COUNTRY SKI AREA. WE’D LIKE TO SEE YOUR PHOTOS AND VIDEOS TOO. YOU CAN SHARE THEM WITH US DIRECTLY. SCAN THE QR CODE ON YOUR SCREEN. IT WILL TAKE YOU RIGHT TO OUR UPLOAD PAGE, OR YOU CAN ALSO GO TO KCRA.COM/UPLOAD WILL WORK TO SHAR