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Sierra Winter: 50 Feet Of Snow; Skiing In July

TRUCKEE (CBS SF) -- Another storm front rolled through the Lake Tahoe region Wednesday, dumping as much as a foot or more of new snow in the higher elevations, adding to the historic totals left behind by February's wintry onslaught.

Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows said they were planning on extending their ski season to at least July 7 -- several months after they would traditionally be closing.

"After a very brief lapse, the snow is back again," Squaw Valley officials said in a news release. "It is currently snowing big, fat flakes at the base of Squaw Valley, and we received 5" in the last 24 hours, bringing our season snowfall total to 596 (inches)."

"We are just a few inches shy of reaching 50 feet of snow so far this season," the release continued. "Considering the current snowy conditions, it's a benchmark we anticipate we will meet by the end of the day."

The National Weather Service said 12 inches of new snow fell late Tuesday and early Wednesday at the Northstar resort near Truckee and 9 inches at Mount Rose on the edge of Reno.

"After the historic month of February, which was the snowiest February on record in parts of the Sierra, this storm may feel more like a glancing blow, but it could still cause significant travel disruptions over the Sierra," NWS forecasters said of Wednesday's weather front.

The wintry blast has also helped drive away any worries of a return to the dire drought conditions of 2015.

According to the Department of Water Resources, the snowpack in the northern Sierra was 155 percent of normal by Wednesday afternoon. The central Sierra, where Lake Tahoe is located, was at 160 percent of normal and the southern Sierra was at 156 percent.

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