Snowfall upon Lake Tahoe, preparations for winter storm underway

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Drivers headed to Lake Tahoe this weekend should be prepared for the first winter storm of the season.

The same weather system that brought overnight rain to the Bay Area also dropped heavy snow in the sierra. 

Caltrans posted chain controls for a time Saturday, on both Highway 50 and Interstate 80, the two main highways linking the Bay Area to the Lake Tahoe area.

By late evening, the chain controls were lifted on both Interstate 80 and Highway 50.

And those highways are expected to be crowded all weekend.

"It's exciting because it has not snowed in a while, and I don't live where it snows," one driver heading to Lake Tahoe said to Sacramento TV station, KCRA.

Palisades Tahoe, a ski resort, reported Saturday afternoon that 5 inches of snow fell on their upper mountains, bringing the preseason snowfall total to 14 inches.

The California Highway Patrol is also urging drivers to check the current road conditions before heading to Lake Tahoe this weekend.