Another round of winter leaves up to a foot of snow in Valley

A storm that hit the Carson Valley over the weekend left up to 12 inches of snow along the Sierra foothills and about 2 feet of snow at lake level at Stateline - about double what forecasters had predicted.

At its strongest point, from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, snow fell throughout the region at about 2 to 3 inches per hour, said Brian Brong, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Reno.

Sheridan Acres Weather Watcher George Uebele reported 9 inches of snow on Saturday and 3 inches on Friday.

Uebele said the snow boiled down to about an inch of moisture.

R-C Minden Weather Watcher Stan Kappler said the storm left 5.5 inches of snow in the central Valley.

According to Kapler, Minden has received 8.69 inches of moisture since July 1, which approaches the Valley's annual average of 9 inches.

The storm brought the usual array of road closures and chain restrictions - along with flooding on Highway 89 after a fire hydrant burst at 12th Street and Roger Avenue in South Lake Tahoe.

The hydrant was struck during snow-removal operations a little after 8 a.m. Sunday, firefighters said.

The water flowed down to the highway, where it was about a foot deep.

Crews were called to shut off the water valve.

And on Highway 50 near Strawberry, an eastbound Jeep Cherokee slid sideways on the icy road into a Caltrans snowplow at about 2 p.m. Sunday, said Capt. Steve Pevenage with the Lake Valley Fire Protection District.

A passenger in the Jeep received moderate injuries, Pevenage said.

n Elaine Goodman of The Tahoe Daily Tribune contributed to this report