"A stormy blizzard hit several regions of California and Nevada, in the west of the USA, on Sunday, the BBC reports.
The snowstorm caused the main roads and several ski resorts to close. It also left tens of thousands of homes without electricity.
The blizzard was especially strong in the Sierra Nevada Mountains region. The winds reached a gust of 305 km/h. (190 mph) Residents were advised of a 'high to extremely high avalanche risk' in that region and the area around Lake Tahoe.
A map showing power outages shows that more than 33,000 people in Nevada and about 24,000 in California were left without power.
A 75-mile stretch of Interstate 80 was closed to traffic Saturday. The Highway Patrol office in Truckee, California, a city on the Nevada border, told the X Network that 'emergency personnel and tow trucks had difficulty reaching motorists due to blizzard conditions.'
But the mountain areas were the most affected by the blizzard. A US National Weather Service official said on Saturday that he was predicting up to three meters of snow at higher elevations, which would create "life-threatening concerns" for people who I live near Lake Tahoe.
Several ski resorts near Lake Tahoe were closed Friday and Saturday, but some hope to reopen on Sunday
Also, Yosemite National Park was closed on Friday. Visitors had to leave the area. US meteorologists advised citizens to stay indoors and travel this weekend, saying it could take a long time to get commuters stranded by the blizzard out.
Other regions of the United States continue to experience extreme weather events. Wildfires are wreaking havoc in Texas, where firefighters are struggling to contain a huge fire in difficult weather conditions.
