Parts of the western United States did get a white Christmas after all.
After a rare display in the Seattle region on Saturday afternoon, snowfall hammered mountains across California late Saturday.
Multiple reports of snowfall were received in Seattle, with the National Weather Service predicting “snowy, hazardous driving” on local roadways.
Federal forecasters said a “seemingly unending” series of low-pressure fronts from the Pacific was hitting the west coast, with chilly storms likely through midweek.
Snow was also observed in the Portland, Oregon, region, where forecasters stated: “rigid arctic air” was blowing in. According to recent projections, at least one inch of snow is expected to fall in the Seattle and Portland areas on Sunday. On Sunday morning, the city of Eugene issued a snow and ice emergency, advising citizens to stay off of emergency roads.
“As further snow showers move across the area, the weather is predicted to deteriorate during the day on Sunday,” the city said. “Freezing temperatures Sunday evening will most certainly exacerbate the situation.”
A possible squall was also forecast for Boulder, Colorado, on Sunday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
The Tahoe Basin and Reno, Nevada, had “severe, strong snowfall” on Saturday, according to the local weather service office. The California Highway Patrol reported that Interstate 80 near Donner Summit was blocked for the second day in a straight. The cause was attributed to poor visibility. On Saturday, rain and thunderstorms passed through the Bay Area in bands. In the late afternoon, a flood alert for San Francisco was discontinued.
Snow blanketed about a quarter of the country on Saturday, and it finally found its way back to the California foothills, where plunging temperatures and a fresh band of precipitation resulted in palm tree-adjacent snow by late night.