By Kathryn Reed

What was supposed to be a minor storm as a prelude to what is going to arrive Tuesday night turned out to be a rather significant event by 2011-12 winter standards.

South Lake Tahoe officially received 5 inches of snow by 3:30pm Monday, according to the National Weather Service. By 6:41pm Mount Rose had recorded 17 inches of snow.

It's bumper-to-bumper traffic through South Lake Tahoe on Monday night. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Both those amounts keep increasing as the white stuff continues falling. While the snow is expected to taper off Monday night into Tuesday, there is a 90 percent chance of snow Tuesday night and 100 percent likelihood Wednesday.

The Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning from 1am-7pm Wednesday.

Weather gurus say between 10 and 20 inches could fall above 7,000 feet, with 5 to 10 inches below that level.

Winds will be picking up as the next storm moves in, with steady winds of 25 to 35 mph and gusts of 50 mph. The ridge tops could experience gusts of 100 mph.

Driving over mountain passes will be less than pleasant, just like the Monday commute over Spooner Summit. Snow was falling so fast Nevada Department of Transportation crews were not keeping up with the accumulating snow. Visibility was also a factor and will likely continue to be.

“Strong winds and heavy snow Wednesday will result in dangerous driving conditions on area roads and near zero visibility over the higher passes late Tuesday night and Wednesday,” the Weather Service warns.

To know about road conditions, click on the state icons on the home page of Lake Tahoe News.

By Stephen T. Watson, Buffalo News

The mother of an Olympic snowboarder was arrested one week ago in the Town of Hamburg after investigators say she came to this area from California to pick up payment for a large shipment of marijuana, police announced Monday.

Myra Hight, 51, of South Lake Tahoe is a suspected member of a nationwide marijuana-distribution ring and remains in federal custody here on drug-trafficking charges, officials from the Erie County Sheriff’s Office and the Hamburg Police Department said at a news conference. Police found more than $77,000 in cash in her vehicle after her Feb. 20 arrest.

“We believe that she is part of a larger-scale drug-trafficking organization that’s been operating both nationally and here in Erie County involving the distribution of large quantities of marijuana,” sheriff’s Capt. Gregory Savage said.

Investigators have no indication Hight’s daughter, Elena, a half-pipe snowboarder who competed in the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, was aware of her mother’s alleged drug trafficking, said Sheriff’s Senior Detective Alan Rozansky.

The younger Hight, a likely participant in the 2014 Winter Olympics, was expected in Buffalo Monday to help her mother post bail, Rozansky said.

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An informational meeting for those interested in joining the Douglas County CERT will be March 7 at 5pm at the Round Hill Fire Station, Elks Point Road.

Following a major disaster, first responders who provide fire and medical services will not be able to meet the demand for these services. People will have to rely on each other for help in order to meet their immediate life saving and life sustaining needs.

Family members, fellow employees, and neighbors will spontaneously try to help each other. This was the case following the Mexico City earthquake where untrained, spontaneous volunteers saved 800 people. However, 100 people lost their lives while attempting to save others. This is a high price to pay and is preventable through training.

That’s what this training will help do.

People will be giving the facts about what to expect following a major disaster in terms of immediate services and how to help.

More information can be found online or by calling Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District at (775) 588.3591.

By Frank X. Mullen, Reno Gazette-Journal

Despite rounds of cost-cutting measures over the last few years, about two-thirds of Nevada general hospitals lost money in the third quarter of 2011, according to the latest report on the financial condition of state’s health care systems.

The report shows that 20 of the state’s 33 hospitals — not including specialty hospitals such as rehabilitation or psychiatric centers — lost money in a single quarter.

“That would be a disaster in any industry and it’s a bit of a disaster here,” said Dwight Hansen, financial director for the Nevada Hospital Association.

Washoe County/Carson City hospitals reported losses of $29.3 million and Clark County hospitals posted a $45.7 million combined loss in the third quarter of 2011, according to data from University of Nevada, Las Vegas-based the Center for Health Care Information Analysis.

Rural hospitals had a combined $52.7 million profit, but that total is largely driven by Elko, which is in the middle of a gold-mining boom, analysts said.

Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital in Elko, for example, made about $58 million in the first nine months of last year from paying patients.

Even as health care costs continue to soar and patients shoulder a greater percentage of their medical charges, some hospitals are sinking beneath multiple burdens, including fewer patients, more uninsured patients and ever-dwindling Medicare reimbursements.

Nationally, about half of all general hospitals have been losing money for the last four years, according to federal health care statistics.

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Tonight’s chat at Sierra Nevada College with Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Executive Director Joanne Marchetta has been canceled because of weather.

Follow Northwest splitboard mountaineer Kyle Miller deep into the Cascades on his epic hunt for good snow in the short documentary “FreeRider”.

The film chronicles Miller’s passion for his sport, his ski bum lifestyle, his love of the mountains, his triumphs and disappointments, his pain and his joys, and his unyielding dedication toward fulfilling his riding dreams. Each season Miller sets a high bar for himself. In 2010, he became the first documented splitboarder to climb and ride all 25 volcanoes in the Western United States. Last year he completed Washington’s 10 highest peaks.

He has made numerous first descents on splits and covered hundreds of miles and thousands of vertical feet on multiday haute route traverses throughout the Cascade Range.

Miller will be attending the screening and also presenting a slideshow covering some of his most challenging backcountry trips, as well as sharing some insight on setting and accomplishing goals, overcoming adversity, and just riding for the pure adventure of it.

The presentation is being hosted at the Back Country on March 3 at 8pm, 11400 Donner Pass Road, Truckee.

For more information, call (530) 582.0909.

Dragonfly’s Beer & Food Festival is March 7 from 6 to 8:30pm in Truckee.

Attendees can stop in anytime during the evening and roam the food and beer stations. Each of the six food items are not only paired with a specialty beer from Firestone Brewing Co., but created using the beer as an ingredient. Fireside is based in Paso Robles

Tickets are $35 per person. Tickets are available at Dragonfly or by calling (530) 587.0557.

Dragonfly is located upstairs at 10118 Donner Pass Road in Truckee.

Chickenfoot plays at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe on May 4 and May 5, 7:30pm.

Must be 21 to attend.

Tickets are $75 — 800.786.8208.

Ozomatli, a popular L.A.-based salsa, jazz, funk, reggae, rock party band, plays Harrah’s Lake Tahoe on April 7 at 7:30pm.

Tickets are $37.50 — call 800.786.8208.

Kiwanis Sunrisers’ annual crab feed is March 9 at 6pm at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe.

There are limited number of the $38 tickets.

For more information, click on the flyer or call (530) 541.5900.