Winter weather at Donner Pass can be brutal. Precipitation averages per year, and because California has a Mediterranean climate wherein most precipitation falls in the winter, much of it falls as snow. At an average of per year, Donner Pass is one of the snowiest places in the contiguous United States. Four times since 1880 total snowfall at Donner Summit has exceeded and topped in both 1938 and 1952. To take advantage of the heavy snows, the Boreal Ski Resort was built to the north. Ski resorts in the Lake Tahoe area report an average of of snowfall per season. Winds in the pass can also become extreme and wind gusts in excess of are common during winter storms. Winter temperatures in the area drop below several times each year; the all-time record low for California of was recorded at Boca (east of Truckee) in January 1937.