Tahoe Weather Blog

We have been talking about a dry period now for the last couple of weeks. That is what we are in and it will continue for at least two weeks unless something changes that cannot be foreseen at this time by the weather models. You may remember the beginning of last winter; A powerful ridge of high pressure set up right off the west coast of the US. Well, that is exactly what we have and what we will have into the foreseeable future. Here is a look at the conditions. Notice the giant ridge of High pressure off the coast. That will block any storms from coming into our area. At the same time, our weather is straight out of the north. This pattern will continue until that ridge actually moves. As air revolves clockwise around the ridge, we will continue to get pummeled with cooler than normal temps and deep valley inversions as winds will also be very light. Things will warm up slightly toward the middle of next week. Then the following week we are seeing indications of the ridge br...

Happy New Year. As I mentioned in my last post, things were going to dry out and they have. I very strong ridge of high pressure has camped out over Tahoe and brought extreme inversions to the area with very poor air quality in the leeward valley's of the Carson Range. Short Term That should finally mix out as a very cold Low Pressure system is going to drop into our area and bring with it very strong winds, warm air ahead of the front and very cold air behind the front. As the valley's finally mix out of the cold and dirty air tomorrow afternoon, high temps will reach the 50's and possibly 60's as this front pulls up warm air from the south. That will be short lived. Unfortunately this storm is somewhat moisture starved. As the cold front approaches snow levels will reach the valley floors and I expect 6-18 inches in the Sierra above 7,000 feet. Lesser amounts at Lake Level. We are looking at less than an inch of liquid precipitation with few exceptions throughout...

First of all Happy Holidays to all! Thank you for the very nice comments on the mountain! Now back to business; A well advertised storm will be moving in tomorrow night. The squeeze is on again as blocking ridges of high pressure will force that storm down through our area. Unlike the last storm, the exit door is wide open so we will not get 4 days of heavy snowfall. Here is a look at how things will shape up tomorrow. I actually talked about this one in the beginning of the month. In my last post I mentioned that this storm will have a more profound affect south of Lake Tahoe. That is still the case. However, I do expect a foot of snow for the Northern Tahoe Sierra and Carson range by Wednesday night. I do not see any major precipitation events after this next storm for 2-3 weeks. We are going to dry out. We may have a weak storm come into the area New Years day, but the models are picking up on a long dry period. That is the bad news, the good news is that around the 17th...

Another strong wave of snow is coming into the Tahoe area with significant snow for the Sierra and Tahoe Basin set for this afternoon through X-Mas Eve morning. I talked about this wave a week ago and am still impressed. Here is a look at late tonight: This storm will have a greater impact in South Lake Tahoe area but will deliver 2-4 feet of additional accumulation for all of the Sierra around Tahoe. I believe Slide Mountain will pick up an addition 18-30 inches in the Carson Range. This storm will continue until tomorrow afternoon. There will be a quiet period tomorrow night. For those of you looking for cold weather, it will be very cold Christmas Eve night. The next storm comes in late on the 25th and will last through the 26th. This storm will again have a more profound impact in the South Lake Tahoe area. Here is a look very late on the 25th as this storm approaches: I expect another 1-3 feet for the Sierra with the heavier amounts south. The Carson range should get...

Forecast from prior posts are right on. The next big moisture plume should arrive late morning early afternoon. Then another tomorrow morning. Snow amounts will be in the 4-8 feet range. Much of it depends on where you are. I am still looking at 4-5 feet for Slide Mountain with very good coverage down to the Washoe Valley. The valley forecast from last post is close, but it appears I may have underestimated the amount of snow. I am now looking for 1-3 feet for the foothills above 5,500 feet and up 6-12 inches for the valley floors. In addition, the storm for the 27th is still looking good with another 1-2 feet for the Tahoe resorts. It appears the heaviest snow may be the south side of the lake down to Mammoth. I will talk more about this storm tomorrow. Merry X-Mas!

The storm is currently approaching from the Northwest with the first wave of moisture due later this morning. Here is the NAM weather model for total precip up until Monday. The models are starting to increase the amount of precip coming. This forecast is talking 8 inches for NW side of Tahoe and 4-5 inches for the entire Sierra around Tahoe. I believe lake level will pick up at least 2 feet of snow while the Sierra above 8,000 feet can expect 4-8 feet. The Carson Range should be in the 4 foot range by late Monday. For more details about the storm see my post from yesterday. Reno and Carson City will also see snow. Very difficult to forecast. The foothills above 5,500 feet should have a pretty decent snow event (12+ inches), while the valleys should pick up 2-6 inches. Again very difficult to predict how much of this makes it over the mountains. I am much more comfortable forecasting Sierra snowfall amounts. Merry Christmas!

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....