I have a couple friends that live at Donner Summit, CA, at the crest of the Sierras (6800’). My wife and I often retreat to their house, in the summer as a reprieve from the heat in Davis, and in winter to ‘sample’ the snow at nearby Sugar Bowl. Donner Summit is frequently one of the snowiest communities in the US, and this winter it was especially so.
The photo below shows their house on March 2, 2019, and the subsequent photo is from June 29, 2019. What a great illustration of how snow acts as a natural capacitor for the California water system, accumulating the ample precipitation during winter months and slowly letting it melt off in the Spring and Summer months.
March 2, 2019 — The first story of the house is completely buried … as is the car in the foreground.
June 29, 2019 — Now you can see the 1st floor. My guesstimate is that there was ~12’ of snow accumulated in the front yard.
Fortunately the house survived the winter mostly unscathed, largely due to the fact that our friends live there full time and are in a constant battle to clear snow from the deck and roof. Other houses in the area didn’t fare so well (see below), especially those that are left unattended all winter.
A nearby home that sustained major damage due to snow loading. Rumor has is that the owner had gutted the interior last summer for renovations, including some of the load-bearing interior walls … whoops.