The fiercest winter storm of the season is pounding Tahoe with wind and snow, and people in a region that has seen an unseasonably dry winter are thrilled.

"It's so beautiful right now!" Christi Virdee reported to SFGATE from Incline Village at 11 a.m. "It's snowing really hard, gigantic snowflakes. Basically all my photos now look black and white. Visibility is diminishing as snow is very heavy and accumulating quickly at lake level."

Eva Salyer of Tahoe is enjoyeing taking in the storm and went on a run to take some photos.

"I am the only person I know who likes to run in it," Salyer says. "The blizzard warning has a lot of people on edge. Most of us welcome the snow and tourism jobs that flourish because of it. Pretty terrible winter we really needed a 'Miracle March.'"

ALSO, Why meteorologists say even a 'Miracle March' can't save California's dismally dry winter

Virdee and Salyer aren't the only ones taking photos of the battering blizzard: social media is filled with images of nothing but snow.

Between Thursday and Friday mornings, 2 to 5 feet of snow is forecast above 7,000 feet, 1 to 3 feet at lake level and over a foot for elevations as low as 2,000 feet.

Snowfall totals for the entire span of the storm from Wednesday through Saturday are even more impressive: Up to 5 feet of snow is expected at lake level and over 7 feet at elevations above 7,500 feet.

Ski resorts are welcoming the brutal blizzard conditions that are closing ski lifts.

"So far this storm is delivering just as forecast," says Kevin Cooper, a spokesperson for Kirkwood and Heavenly. "Since 5 a.m. today we have received another 8.5 inches of snow at Kirkwood and 6.5 at Heavenly. Lifts are spinning but at a limited capacity. Wind and blowing snow are intensifying as the day moves on."

Tracy Horton shared footage on SFGATE's Facebook page taken from Diamond Peak Ski Resort in Incline Village and wrote "high winds and whiteout conditions." In the footage, you see a sea of white and hear the howling gusts.

Mt. Rose ski resort was forced to close Thursday due to extreme conditions.

Caltrans is advising against all road travel in the Sierra Thursday. Highway 80 over Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada was closed in both directions as of 11:15 a.m. Thursday; chain control were in effect on Highway 50.

The potent storm is also expected to blast the Sierra with strong winds, and isolated gusts on ridge tops could reach up to 125 mph. Squaw recorded gusts up to 80 mph Thursday morning.

The Weather Service warns that whiteout conditions are causing zero visibility in some places and more road closures are possible. An avalanche warning is in effect through 10 a.m. Saturday with the danger level predicted to raise to high.

"Even a short walk could be deadly in these conditions," the agency warns.

Last year, the Sierra saw record snowfall, but Cory Mueller with the NWS in Sacramento explains these systems were warmer and driven by atmospheric rivers and snowfall levels were higher.

"We're going to see a lot of snow at lower levels with this storm," Mueller says. "It's going to be tough to get over the mountains in the later part of the week."