Snow, Ice, Traffic and Interstate 80

        Hope you were not involved in Truckee's traffic incident yesterday.  A series of conditions converged on Highway 80 yesterday afternoon and caused a traffic nightmare for travelers.  As a light snow fell over the Truckee River Canyon, skiers on their way home descended the Basin on Highway 89, going north to Truckee to merge onto 80.
     Trouble began as visibility obscured slowing traffic westbound 80.  Tractor trailer rigs, sending waves of powder over passenger vehicles, began skidding and jack-knifing at the main on ramp.  Soon, it became a mess: cars and trucks careening into each other, piling up one after the other. The CHP finally had to close the road for safety and evacuation.  This added to the problem as drivers were slow to get the word of the closure.
      Ahhhh, winter.   Tow trucks were swamped with calls, and service providers from Reno were called to help with the problem.  By night fall, the highway was reopened and traffic began slowly returning to "normal".