Skiers head to Sierra resorts following heavy snowfall

OLYMPIC VALLEY, Calif. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Skiers are heading to Sierra resorts this weekend after a fresh heavy snowfall.

A powerful winter storm has dropped more than 30 inches of snow on the mountains, creating ideal skiing conditions.

This is a big boost for ski resorts in the Lake Tahoe area, which have had to deal with a dry January.

On Friday, at times, skiers had to cope with low visibility and high winds, but they say they're happy to hit the slopes in fresh snow.

"We've had 31 inches of snowfall since Wednesday night, which is amazing. And there's more on the way, as you can see. So, we're really excited. Guests are coming up today, and they're coming to enjoy our slopes this weekend," said Maddy Condon with Palisades at Tahoe.

"We just drove six hours this morning, so we're really excited and looking forward to skiing this weekend. Excited for some fresh snow. I'm hoping to have a good time," said Finn Drasin, a skier.

"I was worried, because we had this trip planned a while ago, and we were looking like there's no snow.. and 160 mile-an-hour winds. Then all of a sudden, I'm looking and it's like 50 inches. All right. Sweet. It's snowing," said Jack Range, another skier.

Drivers headed to the Sierra are being told to expect longer travel times due to the recent heavy snowfall.