Sierra Gets A Fresh Coating Of Snow, Jamming Traffic

DONNER SUMMIT (CBS13) – Snow in the Sierra made for major delays on the freeways Sunday evening.

Getting through Interstate 80 heading to the ski resorts was a traffic nightmare. Our own crew drove six miles in two hours.

But others had it worse.

"We just came up for my brother's birthday," Valarie Morgan said.

A celebratory snowy weekend up north was deflated as siblings from Sacramento found themselves with a flat tire when they went to chain up.

On top of that: traffic.

"We just hit bumper to bumper and they wouldn't tell us exactly what was going on," Morgan said.

Chain controls caused major backups on I-80. But with white stuff piling up a few miles away at the resorts, frustration made way for relief.

"Stoked for the winter great first day," a skier said.

So many skiers were overjoyed with the fresh snow. Many made it up the mountain for the first time in years.

"This winter seems promising, but let's not get our hopes up," the skier said. "Getting early season snow is good."

A mix of emotions for the first wintery-like weekend in the Sierra.

"We just wanna get home," Morgan said.

Caltrans and California Highway Patrol will direct traffic all night. They warn drivers to take it extra slow for the Monday morning commute.