California officials have issued warnings and asked locals to 'hunker down' after predictions of a life threatening storm hitting Sierra Nevada mountains are made. 

Blizzard warnings have been issued in the northern and central Sierra, including Lake Tahoe and eastern Nevada till Sunday morning.  

According to the Weather Channel, Sierra Nevada could be soon covered in 12 feet of snow along with powerful winds. 

Experts have categorized these conditions as 'life-threatening' and asked residents to not travel through this weekend. 

Some areas could also experience power outages and tree damage because of the heavy snow accumulations. 

The National Weather Service of Reno, one of the cities predicted to be impacted and that covers parts of California including Lake Tahoe, said on X: 'Snow is already ongoing over the Sierra and is not expected to let up through the weekend. 

'Your safe travel window is over in the Sierra - best to hunker down where you are.'

Rich Bann, a meteorologist with the NWS, said the western slope of the Sierras will see the heaviest snow, with wind gusts of 100 mph (161 kph) or more likely as the storm crashes over the mountain ridges.

'There could be widespread power outages,' Bann said. 'This is going to be a really big disruption to life until it tapers off on Sunday.'