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Snowglobe gave back to the community by using local high school boosters clubs to run their merchandising booths during the three-day music festival in South Lake Tahoe.

Both the South Tahoe High and George Whittell High School booster clubs participated.

"The Snowglobe staff was unbelievable, Chad Donnelly, Leah Chisholm, Lauren Winschester, Kaitlin (in accounting), Erin (credential) and Luke White," said the booster clubs. "The job was a little larger than described but it was a great learning experience and fundraiser for both schools."

Good morning Lake Tahoe skiers and rider, and if you're visiting, welcome to Lake Tahoe!

Today is January 5.

LOTS OF FRESH POWDER REPORTED AT ALL RESORTS… THE WINTER STORM WARNING IS POSTED THRU 10AM THIS MORNING… ALL LIFTS WILL OPERATE WIND & WEATHER PERMITTING AND WITH DELAYS FOR SNOW SAFETY PROCEDURES… CALL AHEAD.

R1 & R2 ROAD RESTRICTIONS ARE POSTED ON ALL HIGHWAYS IN AND AROUND LAKE TAHOE. HWY 89 EMERALD BAY ROAD & HWY 207 KINGSBURY GRADE ARE CLOSED.

BUCKLE UP AND CARRY TIRE CHAINS AND BE PREPARED FOR WINTER DRIVING CONDITIONS…

Imagine a long, narrow river in the sky about 250 to 375 miles wide, moving along with the weather. It transports water vapor with a flow several times faster than the water at the mouth of the Mississippi River. A river that, when it hits land, releases 30-50 percent of the area's annual precipitation in the form or rain or snow in just a couple of days.

This "river" is called an atmospheric river, and a powerful one can create extreme rainfall and floods and is capable of disrupting travel and causing catastrophic damage.

With temperatures above freezing all day around the Lake Tahoe basin, the much anticipated snow turned to rain, creating a slushy mess on all roads in and around Lake Tahoe.

Upper elevation snow has also created havoc on the roadways, with I80, SR437, SR89 around Emerald Bay and a portion of SR88 all closed at this hour.

Citing concerns for driver safety, I80 is closed from Colfax to the Nevada State line as of 8:20 p.m. Wednesday. Mt. Rose Hwy/SR 431 is also closed from Galena over the summit.

Chains or 4WD with snow tires are required on Highway 50 from Fred's Place to Meyers.

With the heavy rain and high snow levels associated with an atmospheric river hitting the Sierra and Lake Tahoe this weekend, the City of South Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County are reminding citizens that sand bags are available, free of charge.

During wet storms, residents may find themselves with flooding issues around their homes and garages.

Sand bags are available year-round at the City’s Streets and Snow Removal Yard located at 1160 Rufus Allen Blvd. Their operating hours are Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The annual 'Ability Bash" fundraiser at Squaw Valley on January 28 will wrap up a week-long Military Sports Camp for disabled veterans. The event will honor the veterans as well as the participants with disabilities who work with Achieve Tahoe throughout the year.

Achieve Tahoe is a provider of winter and summer adaptive sports instruction at all ability levels for adults and children with disabilities. The Ability Bash will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the resort's conference center.

10:10 a.m. update 1/4/17 - Highway 50 over Spooner Summer is now open, but with chain or snow tire requirements from Stateline to SR28.

Update on current conditions:

US 50 from Meyers to Twin Bridges - Chains or 4WD with snow tires on all 4 wheels.
SR 89 from Christmas Valley to Hope Valley - Chains or 4WD with snow tires on all 4 wheels over the summit. At 9:32 a.m. a tree fell down onto the roadway and they are clearing it now.
SR 89 through Emerald Bay is closed at this time.

A Gardnerville street was closed Tuesday afternoon as deputies, SWAT and crisis negotiation teams from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) served an arrest and search warrant at the home of a domestic violence suspect on Centerville Lane.

At 8:00 p.m. the previous night, on January 2, 2017, DCSO deputies found a partially clothed woman running down the lane. She had been badly beaten and her hands had been bound. She had been the victim of a violent domestic battery.

State Route 207 Kingsbury Grade from the summit down to the Carson Valley floor will be closed to traffic "through the coming weeks" due to a sinkhole caused by an eroding drainage pipe under the roadway.

The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) said the road will remain closed due to traffic safety concerns for the 5,600 vehicles who drive the road daily.

South Lake Tahoe, Calif. - The weekend's heavy snowfall didn't do enough to bring good news during Tuesday's monthly manual snowpack survey at Phillips Station.

Frank Gehrke, chief of the California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program, led a media tour on January 3, 2017 to their normal spot near the turnoff to Sierra-at-Tahoe and found a snow water equivalent of six inches, which is 5.3 inches less that the average early-January total of 11.3 inches, 53 percent of normal.

As one storm leaves Lake Tahoe, the next one is waiting to enter, and forecasters say the new one could dump up to two feet of snow at lake level over the next two days.

A winter weather advisory remains in effect until 10:00 a.m. Tuesday morning when the winter storm warning starts, and stays in place until 4:00 a.m. Thursday, January 5.

Expect widespread snow showers throughout the day on Tuesday, with snow becoming heaving at time this afternoon and all day Wednesday.

On Dec. 11, 2014, a freight train of a storm steamed through much of California, deluging the San Francisco Bay Area with three inches of rain in just one hour. The storm was fueled by what meteorologists refer to as the “Pineapple Express” — an atmospheric river of moisture that is whipped up over the Pacific’s tropical waters and swept north with the jet stream.

South Lake Tahoe, Calif. - I could not be more honored and excited to represent this community as your Mayor. Having served on City Council for two years, I have learned that there are deeply passionate and extremely knowledgeable citizens and fellow council members who care immensely about our community and the decisions made by our City.

With roads clear on Sunday it still took drivers almost three hours to make it the 99 miles Stateline to Sacramento, and it appears today will be worse due to heavy snow and chain controls.

The California Highway Patrol is currently working on a collision by Ice House Road and Highway 50 and they closed the road at 11:16 a.m. to clear the vehicles.

They are also working on accidents near Bridal Veil Falls and the old St. Paulie's Inn. Bridal Veil Falls area was also the scene of many Sunday evening accidents.

One storm has entered the Lake Tahoe Basin, and another is waiting off shore, bringing snow and accompanying road controls with it.

The current winter weather advisory is in place until Tuesday at 10:00 a.m., but that is the same time a new winter storm warning goes up. The National Weather Service is forecasting 5-10" at lake level, 10-20" over the Sierra Crest and 10-15" in the Carson Range near Mt. Rose through Tuesday morning. From Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday night, expect another 12-18" at lake level with 2-3 feet above 7000 foot elevation.

South Lake Tahoe, Calif. – Several people were evacuated from the Comet Express chairlift at Heavenly Mountain Resort on Sunday after a mechanical malfunction caused the lift to stop operating.

Heavenly operations staff immediately responded to the lift and started the evacuation of all guests from the lift, using rope harnesses to lower the skiers and riders to the ground, 20 to 40 feet below.

There were no injuries reported.

Witnesses said the staff got everyone down quickly and very efficiently.

Heavenly lift maintenance personnel are currently assessing the mechanical issue

With the beginning of a new year comes the beginning of a series of storms that may leave up to two feet of snow at upper elevations.

The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory until 7:00 p.m. Sunday evening with increasing winds during the day with wind 20-30 mph and gusts up to 50 mph. The Sierra ridges may see gusts up to 95 mph.

Waves on the lake will be from two to four feet, the highest being from mid-lake to northern and eastern shores.

Good morning and Happy New Year Lake Tahoe skiers and riders! If you are visiting, welcome to the Lake!

Today is January 1, 2017.

SHAPING UP TO BE A GREAT DAY TO BRING IN THE NEW YEAR BY MAKING TURNS ON THE MOUNTAIN… PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES WITH LOTS OF LIFTS & TERRAIN OPENED TO CELEBRATE… WINDS COULD BE AN ISSUE TODAY AND SOME UPPER MOUNTAIN LIFTS ARE ON WIND HOLD AT SQUAW & MT ROSE… SO ALL LIFTS TODAY WILL OPERATE WIND & WEATHER PERMITTING… A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS POSTED TO START THIS EVENING… HAVE FUN AND PATIENCE WITH HOLIDAY LINES… STAY ON OPENED RUNS ONLY AND BE SAFE!

“Bread & Broth’s Monday Meal event is always heartwarming and we are very happy to be able to participate in the Adopt A Day of Nourishment program,” commented Michelle Bergstrom, Montbleu Resort Casino’s director of Administration. As the Adopt a Day sponsor for the December 19th dinner held at St. Theresa Church, Montbleu donated $250 to provide the funds to cover the meal costs to provide over 100 meals served to the evening’s dinner guests.

Fans of electronic music flock to South Lake Tahoe for the annual SnowGlobe outdoor music festival held December 29-31. The predominately under-30 crowd come from colleges and communities hundreds and even thousands of miles away to enjoy a specially gathered group of top artists in the electronic dance music (EDM) field. An estimated 15,000 tickets have been sold for the three-day event which is held on the South Lake Tahoe community's newly created ball fields.

Along with the fun though comes issues common at most music festivals: noise, trash, drinking and illegal drugs.

Denim is now the state’s official fabric to recognize its role in California history, and every autographed collectible sold in California must come with a certificate that verifies it's not a forgery. Those are just two of 898 new laws facing Californians in 2017.

Here are just a few of them compiled in part by California Highway Patrol (CHP):

An Incline Village man is behind bars Friday after being involved in a two-hour standoff with deputies from the Washoe County Sheriff's Office at a residence on Winding Way.

At 10:45 a.m., deputies were called out to the home on a call of a family disturbance, and that 28-year-old Shane Donovan had barricaded himself in a bedroom and was acting extremely erratically.

Donovan voiced threats against himself and law enforcement officers on the scene. He further indicated that he may have rigged the entry way to the room with explosives.

Caltrans is alerting motorists traveling in the Sierra foothills, to mountain areas or over the Donner or Echo Summits during the New Year’s weekend to be prepared for travel delays. Cold temperatures and alternating bands of precipitation are predicted to arrive Friday night and continue through Tuesday morning, January 3, resulting in winter driving conditions, even at lower elevations.

If conditions are favorable, the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District and the U.S. Forest Service will continue prescribed fire operations on Tuesday, January 3, 2017. They will take place on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe near Tahoe City, Kings Beach, Carnelian Bay, and Incline Village.

A) Jennifer/Tyner Urban Fuels Reduction area near Incline Village will have 34 acres of hand piles scheduled to be burned.

B) Tahoe City along Fairway, across from NTFPD Station 51 - 8 acres to be burned.

C) Hwy 267 has 50 acres schedule for burning.