KTLA reported on Tuesday night that the coldest winter storm of the season was moving into SoCal, with the potential for snow to land as low as 2,000 feet.
While Mammoth Mountain only picked up around five to six inches of snow by Wednesday morning, Big Bear and nearby resorts are reporting as much as 10-12 inches of fresh white stuff, and with the temperature currently hovering around 20 degrees on Wednesday morning, we’re talking light, fluffy powder as opposed to the standard fare of wet and heavy “sierra cement.” In other words, it looks like it will be a rad couple days of shredding in the San Bernardino Mountains. If you can get up there, that is.
A winter storm in 2019 brought some of the best skiing and riding to Big Bear in years. Photo: WS
Chain controls are in effect on all highways leading into the San Bernardino mountains, and if my college experiences of trying to get up to Big Bear when it’s snowing are anything to go by, it’ll be some gnarly driving conditions to say the least. Snow-covered mountain roads aren’t the friendliest to those used to the wide-open and bone-dry highways of Los Angeles. Currently, Caltrans is asking drivers to avoid the area for the next few days if possible. “If you plan to head to the mountains, don’t,” said NBC4 meteorologist Belen De Leon. “You should really avoid travel at higher elevations. If you must travel at higher elevations, then carry those chains with you.”
After a couple weeks of abnormally high winter temperatures, the cold (and the snow) will be a welcome change for those who live and play in the mountains. After a strong start to the snow season, California hasn’t seen much snow until this most recent storm that swept through the Sierras before heading south. With both powder conditions and California’s ever-present drought on the minds of most winter enthusiasts, here’s to getting more snow soon.
