San Francisco Bay Area sees rare snowfall
California's Bay Area saw rare heavy snowfall Friday from the latest winter storm to pound the U.S. Hundreds of people braved slushy roads to drive up to Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, about an hour north of San Francisco and play in the snow. The National Weather Service warned of a “cold and dangerous winter storm” that would last through Saturday in California. Blizzard warnings were posted in the Sierra Nevada and Southern California mountain ranges, where as much as 5 feet (1.5 meters) of snow was expected. Interstate 5, the West Coast’s major north-south highway, was shut down south of the Oregon border as snow fell to the floor of the Sacramento Valley and in a high mountain pass north of Los Angeles, where blizzard warnings were in effect. Smaller roads also closed. Forecasters warned of severe thunderstorms that could create waterspouts off the Southern California coast. Parts of Interstate 80 in California closed, including about a 70-mile (112-kilometer) stretch over the top of the Sierra Nevada linking California and Nevada.
