Storm causes major delays for holiday travelers | News

RENO, Nev. (AP) - A potent storm is dropping heavy snow and causing major delays Saturday for holiday travelers in the Sierra Nevada.

Tire chains are mandatory Saturday evening on all three major mountain highways connecting the Sacramento, Calif., and Reno areas: Interstate 80 over Donner Summit, U.S. 50 over Echo Summit and State Highway 88 over Carson Pass.

The snowfall shut down portions of I-80 and Highway 88 at various times Saturday.

Over a 24-hour period ending Saturday morning, the Boreal ski resort atop Donner Summit reported 12 to 16 inches of new snow, while the Sierra-at-Tahoe resort near Tahoe's south shore received up to 15 inches of snow.

The National Weather Service was calling for total storm accumulations of up to 5 feet of snow at higher elevations by early Monday morning.