Rare Labor Day snow falls on Donner Summit

DONNER SUMMIT, Calif. - It's a winter wonderland in summer at the Donner Summit in the High Sierra. Five inches of snow have fallen on the summit - a record for Sept. 2.

The last time snow fell at Donner Summit on Labor Day weekend was 25 years ago. Not only is the snowfall unusual, it's also unusual for it to fall as low as it has - 7,200 feet.

Farther south on the Spooner Lake summit of Highway 50, the road was clear Saturday morning but snow dusted the trees and Sierra slopes.

Heavenly ski resort on Lake Tahoe's south shore reported 3-4 inches of snow on its upper slopes above 10,000 feet elevation. Two inches fell at the Top of the Tram at 8,200 feet elevation.

''Let's hope that this is a sign of things to come this winter,'' Heavenly spokeswoman Monica Bandows said.

Caltrans called out its snowplows Saturday to clear Interstate 80, and drivers were pulling over to the side of the road to take pictures and huck snowballs at each other.

Both Interstate 80 and Highway 50 were open with no restrictions over the Sierras Saturday, according to road reports from Caltrans and the Nevada Department of Transportation.

The snow is from a storm system that brought record rainfall to the Central Valley and low temperatures to much of Northern and Central California the last two days.

The storm system - which originated in the Gulf of Alaska - is typical of a storm that might move through the area in November.

''It's not normal to get this kind of snow this early, but it's not all that unusual, either,'' said National Weather Service spokesman Terry Ryan in Reno, Nev.

''You know what they say about the Sierra: You can see snow every month of the year. This is proof of that.''

Heavy rain was reported at towns around Lake Tahoe.

The National Weather Service forecast for today calls for sunny and warmer weather in the Carson City-Minden area and partly cloudy and not as cool weather around Lake Tahoe. Labor Day is forecast to be partly cloudy with a breezy afternoon in the Carson-Minden area, with Lake Tahoe much the same.