National Weather Service reports Bay Area snow totals from latest storm
National Weather Service reports Bay Area snow totals from latest storm
The National Weather Service said this week's winter weather gave the Bay Area unprecedented snow totals. The sites from Mount Hamilton might be some of the prettiest views from the snowfall over the last few days, but roads to the top are still closed due to dangerous conditions.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The views from Mount Hamilton might be some of the prettiest you can see after days of snowfall in the Bay Area; unfortunately, most people can't get there because CalTrans has the mountain roads deemed too dangerous to pass.
Cameras from the Lick Observatory show the snow and fog coming and going from Friday night into Saturday morning.
"We have a lot of snow and ice on the road itself," said Dr Jon Rees of the Observatory.
"Our crew is doing our best to keep things clear for our access to the various buildings up here so we can do the things we need to keep things ticking along."
People hoped, with clearer skies Saturday morning, they could use the elevation to get a good view of the snow on the Bay Area hills and mountains.
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"I'm trying to play in the snow," said Alex Frigon of San Jose. "It's pretty exciting to see it on the hills." I have snow shoes in the back, I've got microspikes. I'm prepared."
But Highway 130, which becomes Mount Hamilton Road, closed for miles. Santa Clara County road barricades forced drivers to turn around and find snow elsewhere. The Lick Observatory also had to slow down its operations.
"When we have weather like this, we don't conduct telescope operations, we don't conduct science operations anymore," said Dr. Rees. "We just can't open the domes. We don't want snow, ice, water anything falling down into the telescopes or mirrors themselves."
The National Weather Service says about 14 inches of snow fell onto Mount Hamilton from February 23 to February 24th, the most out of anywhere in the Bay Area. Areas like Saratoga, or even the North Bay like Calistoga and Angwin reported about eight to nine inches.