Mother Nature Delivers Wintry Blast To The Sierra

TRUCKEE (CBS SF) -- Mother Nature delivered a wintry blast to the Sierra Monday, dumping several inches of snow on the Lake Tahoe ski resorts and forcing early morning travelers to use chains on the I-80 and Highway 50 mountain passes.

Temperatures plunged into the 20s around Lake Tahoe as the storm front generated by a cold low pressure system descending into the mountain states rolled through the area.

The National Weather Service said a significant snow fell for the first time at the Reno-Tahoe Airport since Sept. 28, 2007.

Officials at Squaw Valley said they had received four inches of snow over the weekend.

"Two inches of snow fell at 8,000 ft. between Saturday and Sunday, and another 2" fell overnight last night," resort spokesman Alex Spychalsky said in a news release. "It has been steadily, lightly snowing down to the base of the resort all morning, so we anticipate the final storm totals will increase slightly by the time the clouds clear this evening."

Forecasters said temperatures would rise later this week so the snow will likely disappear. Squaw anticipates opening its ski season in mid-November.