The upside of all these storms is of course the tremendous amount of Sierra snowpack that they've created — and which will hopefully not melt off too quickly so that our drought worries can be fully abated. CHP Officer James Giraudo tells KRON 4 it's the most snow he's seen in the Tahoe area in 20 years, since the El Nino year of 1997. And, with the massive dumpings of snow all this past weekend come avalanche warnings today, and the closing of I-80 at the Nevada state line in both directions.

Here's a photo of a couple of guys trapped in a totally snowbound car along State Route 89 between Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley. The entire road down to Tahoe City is closed Monday due to an avalanche warning, and a snow slide about 200 feet wide and 12 feet deep buried the road early Monday around 3 a.m. and completely trapped two cars. No one was injured and everyone got out.

Kirkwood Mountain Resort tells KRON 4 this is the most snow they've ever recorded for January, with 400 inches as of January 23 — and by comparison the entire ski season saw 450 inches last year.

As the Chronicle reports, a wind gust of 154 miles per hour was recorded at Squaw peak on Sunday, and most area ski resorts are closed due to avalanche warnings.

The Squaw Valley Fire Department issued an especially dire warning today about the massive amount of wet and heavy snow that fell atop lighter layers from previous storms.

Squaw Valley Fire Department strongly recommends avoiding any exposure to the potential avalanche hazard areas with the Valley. Residents who have the option to spend time somewhere else should consider doing so. Everyone should avoid traveling through the affected areas if at all possible

Finally, via the Chron, here's a pretty drone video of the snow-covered area, taken over a week ago by YouTuber Steve Tietze. Now imagine 10 more feet of snow, and that's where it's at.

Related: High Surf Claims Three Lives As Storm Floods Bay Area Roads