FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A major shift in the weather is on the way-bringing strong winds, heavy rain, and mountain snow that could impact travel and power lines.
PG&E crews are already on alert, inspecting areas most likely to see outages.
“We expect that we may see some outages in the Auberry area, Oakhurst, places like that as you travel up toward Yosemite,” PG&E spokesperson, Jeff Smith explained.
The utility advises those who are at risk of losing their power to have backup food, flashlights and batteries and charge all devices before the storm.
PG&E says crews are also trimming trees as it expects high winds to be an issue.
“The biggest thing that we see are trees and tree branches and vegetation intertwining with power lines causing those outages and they are expected, in some areas, to be up to 50 miles per hour,” Smith stated.
Those same areas also have a Flood Watch in place Thursday as heavy rain can impact rivers, creeks and low-lying areas.
If you do encounter any flooded roads, you want to turn around; do not try to go through it as you don’t know how deep it is or what’s underneath.
Traveling up to the mountains, a Winter Storm Warning blankets areas above 8000 feet.
“It has the potential to leave a couple feet, but it just depends on the snow level,” China Peak general manager, Troy Cohee said.
Just weeks ago, China Peak was covered in early-season snow, but on Wednesday, that same webcam shows bare slopes-but that’s about to change.
The resort says this storm won’t be enough to open, but it will help with snowmaking, which starts Monday.
“We rely on the creek flow for snowmaking,” Cohee stated. “The creek flow will definitely rise with all that moisture. And if it snows anywhere on the mountain, that’s just going to make our life a lot easier.”
China Peak says it plans to open on the Friday after Thanksgiving: November 28th.
The resort has several job openings available from ski/snowboard instructors to lift operators.
For news and weather updates, follow Tiffany Olin on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Copyright © 2025 KFSN-TV. All Rights Reserved.