At the same time, local residents were avoiding shopping or even going out because of the dangerous conditions. “We just want to stay home,” she said.

Life-threatening blizzard conditions were expected through Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service office in Reno, which issued a rare blizzard warning for this storm that will last through Sunday morning. The blizzard warning extends from Lassen Volcanic National Park in Shasta County to Kings Canyon National Park in Fresno County.

Blizzard warnings for the Sierra Nevada are issued only either once annually or once every other year.

Snow showers in the Sierra are expected to continue through Sunday and Monday, and there are more chances of snow on Wednesday.

“That break that we were expecting on Tuesday may not be so much of a break for the Sierra,” the weather service office in Reno said. “The Sierra could see up to 6 inches of snow in the valleys, and up to another foot near the crest, between Tuesday and Wednesday.” After that, “drier weather appears to return by Thursday and into the weekend,” the weather service said.

Hundreds of customers in the Tahoe area were without power for at least some period of time late Friday and early Saturday, according to the Truckee Donner Public Utility District and Liberty Utilities.

Other areas of California are also forecast to be affected by the strong winter storm. A stretch of Interstate 5 in Siskiyou County, near the Oregon border, could get more than 1 foot of snow.

And Highway 101 in Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties could see snowfall. Highway 101 at Ridgewood Summit in Mendocino County could get up to 1 foot of snow; at Prairie Creek Summit in Humboldt County, up to 1.5 feet; and south of Crescent City in Del Norte County, about half a foot of snow.

Yosemite National Park was ordered shut down starting Friday and its visitors told to leave by noon. The park will remain closed at least through noon Sunday, and its closure could be extended.

Some 6 to 12 inches of snow could fall in Yosemite Valley — the most popular part of Yosemite National Park, the National Weather Service office in Hanford said. A winter storm warning will take effect there between Saturday morning through Sunday morning.

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