California Snow Map Shows Counties To Be Hardest Hit

What's New

Parts of California had winter storm warnings and weather advisories issued from the National Weather Service early on Monday, with snowfall predicted for multiple counties in the coming days.

Newsweek has mapped the parts of The Golden State forecast to be hit the hardest, according to the NWS.

Why It Matters

At a time when people are on the move to visit loved ones, the service said that travel could be "very difficult to impossible" in some places and that hazardous conditions in regions affected by snow could impact morning commutes.

What To Know

The NWS says that a winter storm warning is issued "when a significant combination of hazardous winter weather is occurring or imminent."

Per the NWS, these include any combination of:

1. Five inches or more of snow/sleet within a 12-hour period or 7 inches or more of snow/sleet within a 24-hour period.
2. Enough ice accumulation to cause damage to trees or power lines.
3. A life-threatening or damaging combination of snow and/or ice accumulation with wind.

For winter weather advisories, these will be issued "for any amount of freezing rain, or when 2 to 4 inches of snow (alone or in combination with sleet and freezing rain), is expected to cause a significant inconvenience," according to the NWS.

The service said that isolated regions above 8,000 feet in Sierra Nevada region could see up to 16 inches of snowfall on Tuesday. Regions above 6,000 feet could see up to 10 inches.

Up to 12 inches were expected in the highest regions of Mono, Alpine, Placer and Nevada Counties.

Some parts of Sacramento and Plumas Counties could expect up to 10 inches of snowfall, NWS data showed. In Sierra County, a total of 8 inches was forecast.

What People Are Saying

NWS wrote on its official website: "If you are looking for fresh snow by Christmas morning or are curious about potential travel disruptions, the best chances for at least 1 inch of new snowfall early this week exist across the mountainous West, Great Lakes, and Northeast.

"Otherwise, temperatures this last full week of December will average above normal for much of the lower 48 states," the NWS added.

What Happens Next

Many of the winter weather and storm warnings were in place until 7 p.m. EST Tuesday, the NWS said.

As Christmas approaches, Newsweek previously mapped which states could be in with a chance for a white Christmas and see snow on Christmas Day.

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