The National Weather Service on Monday said that the snow to the northern Sierra Nevada and showers, rains, and drizzle in other areas were triggered by a cold front moving through dry California.
According to the weather service, the snowfall in Sierra was notable enough to affect travel across the higher ways.
The harsh weather, the Caltrans said, shut down passes including the Ebbetts Pass on State Route 4, Sonora Pass on State Route 108, as well as the Monitor Pass on State Route 89.
Part of Interstate 80 also had the need for chain controls to be activated.
The weather service said that the 212 straight dry days in downtown Sacramento were put to an end by the measurable precipitation (0.01 inch or 0.03 centimeter) on Sunday evening.
In the same period, KTXL reporter Gurajpal Sangha posted a video on Twitter showing the first snowfall in Sacramento.
Just after 10:30 in the morning on Monday, all chain controls were dropped by the CHP. They tweeted: “That was a pretty wild ride for the first real storm of the year.”
The low-pressure system that triggered the precipitation is making its way toward the Great Basin, KRON4 reported.
The San Francisco Bay Area weather office said the next rain is expected to fall over Northern California on Tuesday evening. It will be tailed by a “cavalcade of rain chances” in the mid-to-long-term forecast.