Terrifying California Blizzard: Hundreds Stranded on Donner Pass

Experience the chaos in this short documentary showing first hand the impacts as a blizzard blankets Northern California, leaving hundreds stranded on Donner Pass I-80 for hours....Including US! Witness the harrowing scenes of snow piling feet high, trapping drivers in their vehicles overnight.
Wicked winds gusting over 100 miles per hour, closing Interstate 80. Power is knocked out to thousands. Feet of snow will continue to fall through the end of the first weekend in March.

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00:00 Intro
01:34 The first I-80 Closure in the storm
03:00 Category 2 Hurricane Force Winds
04:13 Snowshoeing in a blizzard
07:27 Stuck with a toddler in a blizzard
12:00 I-80 Closes, stranding hundreds of drivers
13:00 The 2-wheel drive problem
15:00 CHP Clears Highway
16:33 Towing a news van

[JonathanPetramala]

Thank you for watching! If you enjoy my style of journalism, please consider subscribing to my channel and @wxchasing
Also, I have a membership available if you are interested and I offer exclusive content.

[mjsimm]

It's all fun and games till the cannibalism starts.

[brentsarazin]

Wow. Well I guess Old Man Winter hasn't forgotten this part of the World while the rest seems to be enjoying an early Spring. GREAT footage...TY

[brightymcbrightface]

you can't blame the truck drivers or the car drivers, it's entirely the fault of Caltrans, as ever, completely failing to manage the road and the traffic.
all trucks should have been held at Truckee and Applegate.
only 4x4 with snow tires
2wd would have to wait till I-80 was passable (Monday, maybe.)
To let traffic on the road, was to send people in chaos and risk lives.

[avalondreaming]

The ghosts of the Donner party are cheering. Extra food tonight. 😮

[billstill]

Watch out for hungry cannibals! History repeats itself!

[Pipsqwak]

I don't care how long that one guy has lived in the area, it's utterly insane to "snowshoe to our mountain cabins" in a such a blizzard. I remember old timers in Montana blizzards tying ropes between the house and the barn or outbuildings that they would hang onto in order not to get lost in the white out conditions while out doing their chores. It's so easy to get lost on your own property when you can't see a damn thing. Those who didn't take these precautions and just went out because they thought they could handle it ended up dead.

[IrnMaiden]

Like you said, it went in one ear and out the other for those who didn't listen to the weather, and some probably didn't even look at what the weather was going to be in the area they were traveling to.

[sfevildick]

Could you put more content up of that handsome guy calling everyone assholes in the beginning? That was the best part.

[RobertJohnson-bjlk]

Some people try So hard to win the Darwin Award💀🏆. Cal Trans should have preemptively shut down I-80 on Thursday afternoon.

[EricHanson-bb]

Donner pass has always been a problem spot in the winter!!!! When CHP says to stay away and don't travel on it! Take heed to there warnings!!!!

[KrisHughes]

Forecasters: There's going to be a terrible blizzard on Donner Pass!
Californians: Let's drive over Donner Pass.

[donnavorce]

Authorities: Stay home everybody
Morons out on the roads: Challenge accepted

[Skidderoperator]

Telling people to stay home is like a challenge for them. BONEHEADS!

[PlymouthVT]

The fact that its called "Donner Pass" should give you pause on a very nice day.

[caseygray]

I am also a truck driver. I have been dealing with this terrible weather in Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and California. Fortunately, I was able to "steer clear" of the Donner Summit during these storms. Speed kills, inexperience in winter weather does as well.

[veronicafoster]

What part of blizzard don’t those people understand? They knew for days it was coming, and yet they still went out. Kind of hard to feel sorry for stupidity.

[spencerimre]

I don't understand why people insisted on traveling during this extreme weather. Everybody knew this was gonna happen. This storm was predicted a week out.

[robertodebeers]

You all had several days notice that this storm was going to be a killer, yet here you are in your cars, praying for help. What one word describes your mental processes best?

[rcsutter]

I've lived in Colorado since the mid 60's. Back in the pre-internet days you could get caught unawares in a storm like this. But now? There's absolutely no excuse for it. Especially this storm, which has been predicted for days. But you have radar, webcams, waze reports, etc in the palm of your hand. Use it.