OMAHA, Nebraska, USA (AP) — Severe weather affected areas of the United States during the first half of the weekend, with dangerous conditions including heavy snowfall in northern New York state, a major ice storm in the northern central states, severe weather alerts around Lake Tahoe, and unusual tornado activity in central California.
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The ice storm that began on Friday night created dangerous driving conditions in Iowa and eastern Nebraska from Friday to Saturday and caused temporary closures of Interstate 80 after numerous cars and trucks slid off the road. In northern New York, more than 84 centimeters (33 inches) of snow were reported near Orchard Park, where lake-effect snowstorms often occur.
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A tornado touched down on Saturday near a shopping center in Scotts Valley, California, about 70 miles south of San Francisco, around 1:40 in the afternoon. The tornado overturned cars and knocked down trees and power poles, said the National Weather Service. Several people were injured and taken to hospitals, according to the Scotts Valley Police.
Some trees fell on cars and streets and damaged roofs in San Francisco. The damage was being assessed to determine if the city had really been affected by a tornado, which had not happened since 2005, according to the meteorological service.
Roger Gass, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service office in Monterey, California, stated that the tornado warning in San Francisco was the first for the city. He pointed out that before the previous tornado, which occurred almost 20 years ago, no advanced warning was issued.
"I suppose there wasn't a clear footprint on the radar for an alert in 2005," said Gass, who wasn't there at that time.
The fast-moving storm prompted warnings to the population to seek shelter, but few people have basements in the area.
"The most important thing we tell people in the city is to put as many walls between you and the outside as possible," said meteorologist Dalton Behringer.
In some Lake Tahoe ski resorts, more than 30 centimeters (one foot) of snow fell, and at the Mammoth Mountain resort, south of Yosemite National Park, a wind gust of 181 kilometers per hour (112 miles per hour) was recorded according to the meteorological service office in Reno, Nevada. Up to 91 centimeters (3 feet) of snow were expected for the peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
The Tahoe Live music festival at Palisades Tahoe ski resort in California was expected to take place as planned on Saturday and Sunday despite a winter storm warning for the area. Lil Wayne was scheduled to perform on Saturday night, with Diplo as the headlining artist on Sunday, according to the festival's website.
The winter storm alert was expected to expire at 10 p.m. on Saturday, but the avalanche alert remained in effect until the following night above about 2,400 meters (8,000 feet) in the Lake Tahoe area.
On Saturday, a 130-kilometer (80-mile) stretch of Interstate 80 was closed from Applegate, California, to the Nevada state line just west of Reno. The California Highway Patrol reopened the road in the afternoon for passenger vehicles with chains or four-wheel drive and snow tires.
The bad weather in the central north of the country resulted in at least one death. The Washington County Police in Nebraska said that a 57-year-old woman died after losing control of her truck on Highway 30 near Arlington and crashing into an oncoming truck. The other driver suffered minor injuries.
The companies announced plans to open late on Saturday, as temperatures rose enough in the afternoon to melt the ice in most places.
"Fortunately, warmer air is coming behind this to make it temporary," said Dave Cousins, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Davenport, Iowa.
Tens of thousands of people in western Washington state lost power on Saturday as the system brought rain and gusty winds, local media reported.