Bay Area Treated To Rare Snow Day On Local Hills
SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS (CBS SF) – From the North Bay, to the East Bay, to the Santa Cruz Mountains, parts of the Bay Area woke up to the rare sight of snow early Tuesday.
On Highway 17 in the Santa Cruz Mountains, snow had been falling off and on since 2 a.m. KPIX 5 reporter Kiet Do said the snow elevation at the Summit (elevation 1,800 feet) was about 1-2 inches.
"It's just peaceful, it's very peaceful. I lived in Tahoe for a while and it's just gorgeous, anytime you're in the snow," said Eric Federspiel, who pulled over to take pictures of the rare winter weather.
Many Bay Area residents took to social media, using the hashtag #BayAreaSnow, to document the first significant snowfall in the Bay Area's higher elevations in years.
In the East Bay, snow fell on the Altamont Pass and east of Livermore overnight. Snow was also reported in the Oakland and East Bay hills.
Significant amounts of snow was also seen on the tallest Bay Area peaks, including Mount Diablo in Contra Costa County and Mount Hamilton east of San Jose.
Snow was even reported on parts of San Francisco and the Peninsula. A spotter with the National Weather Service reported a light dusting of snow on Twin Peaks early Tuesday morning.
In the end, Mt. Hamilton in Santa Clara County received the most snow, with eight inches, weather officials said.
Four inches fell on Chews Ridge in Monterey County, while Mt. Umunhum in nearby Santa Cruz County received 3 inches.
Fremont Peak in Alameda County also got 3 inches of snow.
The Santa Cruz Mountains received 2 inches and the state Highway 17 summit, located between Santa Cruz and Santa Clara County, collected one inch.
San Francisco's Twin Peaks received trace amounts, according to weather officials.
In Palo Alto, a stretch of Page Mill Road was closed due to snow and ice until about noon.
In the North Bay, snow was also spotted in the higher elevations, including Mount Tamalpais in Marin County.
The storm that brought snow to the Bay Area also dumped up to three feet of snow in the Sierra since Monday. Its impact was also being felt at Yosemite National Park, where officials urged visitors to stay indoors on Tuesday.
According to longtime Bay Area meteorologist Jan Null, two other significant Bay Area snow events have taken place on February 5th. On this day in 1887, over 3 inches fell in Downtown San Francisco, and on this day in 1976, an inch fell in downtown, and up to five inches on Twin Peaks.
