A gust of 190 mph was detected Friday night at Palisades Tahoe at an elevation of 8,700 feet, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters warned of extreme avalanche danger across the Tahoe region in the Sierra backcountry through Sunday afternoon.

Around Mammoth Mountain in Mono County, peak winds clocked in at 114 mph Friday afternoon.

The record in California for the fastest wind gust verified by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was 199 mph on Feb. 20, 2017, at Ward Mountain, also known as Ward Peak, at Palisades Tahoe.

Forecasters urged people to stay where they are unless there’s an emergency, and warned that it could take time for plows to dig out communities. Meteorologists say the storm, which may dump up to 12 feet of snow in the highest elevations of California’s mightiest mountain range by Sunday, could result in one of the top 10 snowiest days of the central Sierra since 1970.

“Conditions in the Sierra will be treacherous through Sunday morning with life-threatening travel,” the weather service said.

The crest of the Sierra overall is expected to get 6 to 10 feet of snow; Mammoth Lakes, 2 to 4 feet; and the Tahoe Basin, 3 to 6 feet. Snow has been falling steady at about 2 inches per hour, with intermittent rates of 3 to 4 inches per hour, the weather service said, which should peak late Saturday.

The UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab had received 3 feet of snow by Saturday morning, and expected several more feet by Monday morning.

Mammoth’s ski resort forecast a high of 15 degrees Saturday and, besides the blizzard, forecast “thundersnow,” in which lightning can occur within a snowstorm.

“Light, fluffy snow will be easily blown around, creating whiteout conditions with near-zero visibility at times,” the weather service office in Reno said. For those who do venture out, “pack an emergency kit and prepare to be stranded in your vehicle for an extended period of time.”

Sophie Abadilla at Footloose Sports, a ski shop in Mammoth Lakes, said she had been forced to walk to work rather than drive because of the storm. Although the town usually quickly clears sidewalks during storms, she still had to trudge through more than a foot of snow, she said.

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