Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Surprise in California as snow arrives early on last day of summer

Sierra Nevada hit by 3 inches of snow thanks to 'weather rollercoaster', forecaster says

Molly Fleming
Saturday 23 September 2017 11:01 EDT
Comments
Northern California has seen snow on the official last day of summer
Northern California has seen snow on the official last day of summer (AP)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Snow has fallen in California on what was officially classed as the last day of summer, with the unexpectedly early turn in the weather causing dangerous travel conditions.

Drivers have been advised to take care in the icy conditions and one man has already been killed due to a car crash on the Interstate 80 motorway.

Residents in the Sierra Nevada mountain range were shocked to wake up to heavy snowfall on Thursday morning with one village in Mammoth Lakes reporting 3 inches of snow.

The Yosemite National Park was forced to close its eastern entry due to the adverse weather conditions despite Tioga Pass road typically only becoming impassable in mid-November.

However, the heavy snow isn’t expected to last in Northern California. “Fall is a big transition period, so we have these big dips in temperature and then we go higher,” National Weather Service forecaster Hannah Chandler told the LA Times.

“It’s kind of a weather roller coaster,” she added.

America has been suffering from a string of remarkable weather events this summer, not least the severe flooding in Houston, Texas due to Hurricane Harvey.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in