Northern California gets more snow, Mammoth Mountain opens
LOS ANGELES — Rain moved across Northern California and snow began falling in the northern Sierra Nevada on Friday.
The latest storm came a week after California finally got a real dose of fall weather after months of hot, dry conditions that fed wildfires.
The Mammoth Mountain ski and boarding resort in the Eastern Sierra opened for the season a day ahead of schedule thanks to last weekend’s storm, which left 17 inches of snow atop its 11,053-foot summit.
Other resorts and ski areas around the state plan openings in the coming days.
Southern California continued cooler than normal but forecasters predicted a warm-up Sunday and Monday with gusty offshore Santa Ana winds potentially elevating fire danger.
About 90% of the state remains in drought or abnormally dry, with the exception of counties from the Central Coast south to San Diego, according to this week’s U.S. Drought Monitor report.