Monster blizzard dumps snow on California and Nevada

Residents were urged to take shelter and stay off roads as they prepared for up to three metres of snow in some areas and damaging winds.

California Highway Patrol, state transportation officials and other authorities reported throughout the day that troopers and others were responding to dozens of collisions on the I-80 route, cars sliding into snow banks or getting stuck on the side of roadways.

A tornado touched down in Madera County on Friday afternoon, said Andy Bollenbacher, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Hanford. It caused some damage to an primary school, he said.

The National Weather Service in Reno expects the heaviest snow to arrive after midnight, continuing with blizzard conditions and blowing snow through Saturday that could reduce visibility to one-quarter mile or less.

The storm began barrelling into the region on Thursday, with the biggest effects expected to close major highways and trigger power outages Friday afternoon into Saturday. A blizzard warning through Sunday morning covers a 482-kilometre stretch of the mountains.

Meteorologists predict as much as 3 metres of snow is possible in the mountains around Lake Tahoe by the weekend.

Winds are expected to gust in excess of 185 kph over Sierra ridgetops, and 113 kph at lower elevations.

All visitors at Yosemite national park were supposed to be out as of noon Friday, due to a warning of possible avalanches.

Many Lake Tahoe ski resorts said they were staying closed Friday due to conditions.

On the bright side, California water officials said the storm should provide a much-needed boost to the Sierra snowpack, which is vital to the state's water supplies. It stood at 80 per cent of average on Thursday, California Department of Water resources officials said.

Australian Associated Press