Rain and snow soaked Northern California on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, turning the morning commute into a slow crawl in places and forcing officials to deal with flooding, debris and chain controls as the storm moved through. KCRA 3's weather team issued an Impact Day for Tuesday, warning that travel and outdoor plans could be disrupted.
By 8:26 a.m., Watt Avenue to eastbound Interstate 80 was closed because of standing water, and the carpool lane and No. 1 lane were blocked on eastbound I-80. Less than half an hour later, at 8:57 a.m., the California Highway Patrol warned drivers about debris on westbound Highway 50 east of East Bidwell Street after a multi-vehicle crash.
The problems were not limited to the valley. At 9:49 a.m., chain controls were required on Interstate 80 eastbound from Kingvale to Truckee and westbound from the Donner Lake Interchange to 2.5 miles east of the Highway 20 junction. Chains were also required from 6.5 miles east of Peddler Hill in Amador County to 5 miles west of Picketts Junction in Alpine County. When chain controls were in place, the adjusted speed limit on I-80 was 30 mph, and on Highway 50 it was 25 mph.
By 11:30 a.m., chain controls were still posted on I-80 eastbound from Kingvale to Truckee and westbound from the Donner Lake Interchange to 4.7 miles west of Kingvale, along with the Sierra stretch from 6.5 miles east of Peddler Hill to 5 miles west of Picketts Junction. At 11:57 a.m., chain controls were lifted on Interstate 80, but the storm was still expected to keep sending scattered showers through the afternoon and evening, with thunderstorms that could carry hail and Sierra snow likely to keep travel difficult.
The storm system was shaping up as a broad Northern California weather event, with localized flooding, traffic impacts, power outages and weather-related crashes all possible through the day. The key question for drivers is no longer whether the roads were hit early Tuesday — they were — but how much longer the rest of the storm would keep mountain routes under restriction and slower traffic moving through the Sierra.
