Tahoe Weather Blog

After record breaking snows in December, Ma Nature has turned off the spigot. Why she decided to do that, we have no idea. So, will it ever snow again in Tahoe? I know that is a ridiculous question. Of course it will.  We took out our long range Crystal Ball. We looked long and hard for a pattern change. We see one coming on or about the 3rd or 4th week of this month. Between now and then we could see a couple of weak sliders. One of the culprits for this weather, is a huge ridge of high pressure extending from northern Canada down all the way to parts of the southern US. It is keeping the northern plains in the deep freeze and blocking just about everything. That is giving free reign to our persistent ridge to setup off the coast and channel everything north. We need that ridge to move west, which should open the storm door again. Around the 3rd of 4th week of February, the long range forecast has that ridge moving west: As you can see, when that happens storms fill the void and make

Our persistent ridge of high pressure, after being tossed around like a rag doll, is making a comeback. We have a few glancing blows that for the most part will be blocked by said ridge. The first is late Monday night (1/3), early Tuesday morning: Notice that blocking ridge to our south. We will get a glancing blow at best, perhaps 6 inches of snow up at Mt. Rose. The next is Friday (1/7) in the morning: Again, another glancing blow. The good news, these smaller systems should mix up the air and prevent a long, drawn out temperature inversion.  Temperatures will fluctuate, but we still see high's in the 50's for valley locations starting Thursday. Not much else happening, Happy New Year! Stay Tuned ...

After a record breaking December, the models are backing off a major weather event next week. A ridge of high pressure is the culprit. We thought that ridge would be moved out, obviously it had other ideas.  Here is the forecast for late on Tuesday January 4th. Notice the ridge of high pressure to the south, that will close the storm door for the Tahoe area: We are looking at 6-12 inches of snow for Mt. Rose Tuesday into Wednesday.  We are seeing much warmer temperatures with high's in the 50's in some valley locations. By the 6th of January, I would expect to see temperature inversions in place as well. This pattern will start around the 6th and should last for at least a week. Stay Tuned ...

It turns out that Ma Nature does NOT have that great a sense of humor. Sure she sent a snow storm to the Global Warming Summit a few years back, which made it much more difficult for the planet saviors to land their private jets. Imagine the problems with Limos and Tire Chains? Those poor billionaires! I received an email from a person that the ski resorts would soon be suing the oil companies for lack of snow. I simply replied back that therapy must not be working, perhaps medication would be more effective for his condition. Mt. Rose has received over 200 inches of snow in the last 2 weeks and it is still snowing! That is how nature works. In the span of a few weeks we can catch up to our averages. Remember there is no normal when it comes to weather or even climate. Having said all of that, we are seeing an end to this latest storm cycle approaching: Here is the forecast for late Thursday.  We believe the snows will stop by Wednesday morning as this ridge creeps east and provides a

Our current pattern will continue. We are currently approaching 4 feet of snow and expect another 3-5 feet by Monday in the Carson Range. The models are then predicting a break as high pressure moves in starting Tuesday (12/28) and lasting through the 2nd of January. Then things change again. What looks to be a massive storm drops out of the Gulf of Alaska and shoves the ridge back to 160W and opens the door for what could be a major storm. Now things could change, but this is what the 2 most reliable weather models are predicting for January 3rd: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all, get out and enjoy the perfect mid-winter conditions all around Tahoe.  For updated status of Mt. Rose, see my friend Sven over at Unofficial Rose. Stay Tuned ...

We are on the eve of an extremely active weather pattern for all of the Tahoe area. In fact, the GFS weather model is predicting in the neighborhood of 10 additional feet of snow for the Carson Range. The ECMWF is talking 8-10 feet. Currently, we have the perfect conditions setting up for a major weather event. Notice the ridge of high pressure way out at 160w. That opens a door for storms to come in from both the north and the south.  Things will get rolling late Tuesday or Early Wednesday morning. That is a bit later than we originally thought (in our last post). However, this storm cycle will last through the year. Here is a look at the forecast for Wednesday Evening (12/22): We should see heavy to moderate mountain snow, with elevations starting just above lake level (that is our best guess). By the time Friday evening (Christmas Eve) rolls around: This wave is much cooler and will spill over into the leeward valleys with accumulating snow. In the mountains, very heavy snow. We bel

After 10 feet of snow in the Carson Range and perhaps 20 feet on the Western Crest, we are in for a 3 day break. Then ... Deja Vu all over again. Here is the forecast for Monday night: This is a very interesting storm. It is forecast to hang off the coast for a period of 4 days. Then it will move north and then move back south again. It has a sub-tropical moisture tap and should bring an additional 4-6 feet of snow to the Carson Range next week. Notice the ridge of high pressure way out at sea. That is going to keep the storm door open. After this storm finally moves out, the ridge is so far west and north that we are forecasting a couple of storms slamming into each other shortly after Christmas. One storm will come from the north the other from the south: This is a bit too far off to predict what effect it will have on Tahoe, but needless to say, this could bring in another major weather event. The GFS model has already picked up on these series of events. We are seeing high pressure