Because, you know, global warming.
Snow fell in the Sierra Nevada on the last day of summer, giving the towering mountain range shared by California and Nevada a wintry look in September and making travel hazardous.
Sixteen vehicles crashed on Interstate 80 as snow and hail fell Thursday, killing a man driving a pickup truck and causing minor injuries to a few other people, said California Highway Patrol Officer Chris Nave.
Snow dusted peaks in Yosemite National Park, briefly closing Tioga Pass road, the soaring eastern entry to the park that typically doesn’t become impassable until mid-November. Park rangers urged drivers to remain cautious after the road reopened.
Fog and clouds along the route covered most of the mountain peaks and steam rose from lakes in some areas, prompting drivers to stop frequently to take photos.
Snow also fell in Mammoth Lakes on Thursday evening, creating slick roads and giving the popular ski resort town more or a winter look than one reflecting the last day of summer.
Several inches of snow were expected at elevations of at least 6,000 feet in the northern Sierra, said National Weather Service forecaster Hanna Chandler in Sacramento.
“The last days of summer,” the Placer County Sheriff’s Office wryly tweeted in a post showing snow falling on patrol vehicles at its Lake Tahoe station.