The Pineapple Express

Oftentimes we have heard about a weather anomaly in Tahoe called the Pineapple express. That anomaly is a combination of many factors including the southern jet stream and sub tropical moisture plume. For the most part it represents a huge swath of precipitation stretching from Lake Tahoe all the way to Hawaii. Get the picture? No? Here take a look:



This moisture is stretching a little too far north for us to see the epic storm conditions that normally happen in a Pineapple Express.

Last Storm in The Cycle
As you can clearly see, however, we are not done. In fact the largest storm is about to come in an blast us starting this afternoon and lasting through most of Thursday. This storm should bring us an additional 3-5 feet over the crest. That should translate to around 2-4 feet at Mt. Rose in the Carson Range. Believe it or not, the majority of energy for this storm is heading well south of us. We are on the northern edge of the storm. Here are the totals for this storm alone:



Down around San Diego and into Mexico they will receive 10+ inches of rain. With many areas burned out, there will probably be massive mudslides as the water runs off. Our area will be in the 2-5 inch precip while Mammoth will receive 4-6 inches. That translates to lots of snow with cooler temps and higher snow to water ratios, probably around 15 to 1.

Looking Ahead
Things will slowly taper off on Friday. Saturday and Sunday will bring sunshine and 12-15 degrees below normal temps for the leeward valleys, as  a ridge of high pressure sets in.

Monday and Tuesday will bring a warming trend leading up to what may be another storm cycle starting late next week.

Golf Outlook
So far the lowest parts of the valley have been able to avoid any snow whatsoever. Unfortunately, I think that will change. This will not be a huge valley snow event, but will drop at least a couple of inches tonight. With the warming trend coming early next week, the valley courses should be open by Wednesday, 1/ 27.  Arrow creek has about 3-5 inches on it now, so it may be sometime before it can open again.