Giant Slow Moving Storm To Slam Tahoe With Another On Its Heels

Storm 1
I sound like a broken record, but the snowy pattern is going to continue. The first of two very large storms is knocking on the door right now. It will bring very windy conditions this afternoon into this evening. Wind prone areas of the eastern foothills could easily see 70mph winds.

By tomorrow the precip moves in. This storm is moving very slowly, so the models are predicting a major snow event for the Sierra and Leeward Valleys. It is going to snow in the Sierra, non-stop, from tomorrow morning through Monday afternoon. Much of that snow will be very heavy at times. Here is why, notice the blocking that is occurring forcing the front to remain stationary, remember to click on an image to enlarge.



Needless to say, mountain travel this weekend should NOT be attempted! Also with the copious amounts of snow on a very solid base, avalanche dangers will be high and you should check the Sierra Avalanche site. A link to that site appears on the right side of this web page.

Here is a look at the EC forecast model for total precipitation between now and Monday. I believe this amount is low. This will be all snow for the Sierra and probably the foothills as well. Most areas around Reno should see a white Christmas as this storm is arriving right on time.


The NW areas around Tahoe are looking at 5+ inches of liquid precip. I believe all of Tahoe could get at least 5 inches. I would be very surprised if all the ski areas did not add an additional 4+ feet of snow by Monday afternoon. There will be areas at the top of the western crest that will see close to 10 feet of snow.

Storm 2
Things will mellow out for Christmas, but we have another large storm looking to move in on the 27th. Here is a forecast for very early on the 27th:


This storm will be a much faster moving storm and will not leave us with as much snow. But I expect an additional 1-3 feet for most Tahoe ski areas.

Looking ahead there is another storm that could be headed our way for around the first of the year. Here is the EC forecast for total precip between now and January 7th, 8-15 inches of liquid precip which should translate to 7-20 feet of snow!


One more note here for the die hards, I fully expect there to be a very good layer of snow all the way down to the Washoe Valley by Monday ... wink wink.

Stay Tuned ...