Nov. 03--Mammoth Mountain was covered in its first significant snowfall of the season Monday and forecasters say more is on the way.
About 11 inches of snow fell on Mammoth Lakes, the National Weather Service said. Up to 2 inches more are expected to blanket the resort town Tuesday while temperatures remain in the teens or lower 20s, said meteorologist Brian Brong. The cold weather is magnified by stinging 30-to-40-mph winds, he said.
Gondola work
A Mammoth Mountain ski patrol member rappels down while practicing gondola evacuations after a fall Sierra Nevada storm dropped nearly a foot of snow at Mammoth Mountain.
Main Lodge
A fall Sierra Nevada storm dropped nearly a foot of snow at Mammoth Mountain and snowmaking is piling on in anticipation of opening day this Thursday.
Snow cruiser
A bicyclist rides through snow in town after a fall storm dropped nearly a foot of snow at Mammoth Mountain and less in town in Mammoth Lakes.
Fall storm
Mammoth Mountain is preparing to open early this season after an early season storm brought a foot of snow to the area.
Snow making
Snow making in full force at the resort after a fall Sierra Nevada storm dropped nearly a foot of snow on Mammoth Mountain.
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Video of the area tweeted out by MammothLakes, the area's tourism bureau, showed a white winter landscape buried in inches of fresh powder. The area is open for recreational use in nine days or less, tweeted MammothMountain.
More precipitation is expected in the next few days but nothing as significant as Monday, Brong said. At nearby Yosemite National Park, park rangers posted a photo on Twitter of rain-soaked valleys and roads amid dense fog and gray skies Monday morning.
The Sierra Nevada south of Lake Tahoe was also blanketed in snow, the National Weather Service said. Heavy rain poured from San Francisco to the Central Valley, briefly triggering flash-flood warnings.
Lighter rain was expected through mid-week in Southern California, including the L.A. County mountains.
For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna.
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