Snowfall and extreme cold break records in Pacific Northwest and Sierra Nevada

The Pacific Northwest and Sierra Nevada grappled with another day of snow, ice and unseasonable cold that has disrupted traffic, caused closures and forced people to find refuge in emergency warming shelters.

Across western Washington and Oregon, officials and private groups opened emergency spaces for people as forecasters said the extreme cold from an arctic blast that blew in Sunday could last until the weekend.

Farther south, part of the main highway from San Francisco to Reno, Interstate 80, was closed Tuesday for a third day due to record-setting snow in the Lake Tahoe area after a winter storm blasted across northern California and Nevada.