Our Groundhog Day of mild temperatures and sunny skies ended as the atmospheric river hit Palisades Tahoe this morning. We are currently experiencing snowfall, but there is a lot left on our bingo card, as the winds will continue to increase and snow elevation levels are likely to fluctuate this weekend.
Weather
The atmospheric river is rushing in with forecasted ridgetop winds gusting from the Southwest at over 100+ mph at times through this storm. Snow levels are challenging to forecast in atmospheric river events. We don’t know exactly how much warm air will flow in and where the freezing levels will be.
As of this morning, snow levels have reached the base. We are experiencing strong winds on the ridges. Heavy precipitation continues through the weekend, with snow levels climbing to higher elevations by Saturday night, meaning rain could reach the peaks. By Monday morning, rainfall is expected at the base, 8-16 inches of mixed precipitation near mid-mountain, and 32-42 inches of wet snow up top. A colder system moves in Monday night into Tuesday, lowering snow levels to the base areas by Tuesday afternoon, bringing significant snowfall to all elevations.
That means snow down to the base is expected for the heaviest precipitation period Monday night into Tuesday! We could see significant snowfall for all elevations during this 36-hour period. By early Wednesday morning, we could see additional snowfall totals of around 17-23 inches at the base, 26-33 inches near mid-mountain, and 33-41 inches up top. Click here to view the full weather blog by Open Snow’s Bryan Allegretto.
Conditions
Here’s the rainbow during the rain: our grooming department has been getting raving reviews on the corduroy they have been creating. Even if the precipitation this weekend turns to rain, this will soften up the tilled snow and make for some fun, soft, carving turns. In terms of off-piste snow, our base is very firm and if you choose to ski on top of that with the precipitation coming down, Jimmy King’s best guess is that the snow conditions will be, and I quote, “interesting”.
While forecasting snowfall totals is difficult during atmospheric events, once the snow elevation levels drop and we get some beautiful snowflakes, we can expect STELLAR skiing.
Operations
With all storm events, our mountain operations teams create a plan ahead of time and continuously react and adjust to what Mother Nature sends our way. Our operations teams plan on coming in each morning and opening everything they can. With forecasted winds over 100+ mph, it is unlikely that the entire mountain will be able to open. In higher wind scenarios the ridgeline lifts are the ones primarily affected.
To stay up-to-date on all lift and terrain openings and closures, you can download the Palisades Tahoe App. It delivers real-time updates on lift and terrain statuses, and you can get a better idea of what we will try to open in the morning before the lifts start spinning.
Mountain Surf Report
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Parking and Transportation
As a reminder, parking reservations are required every weekend and select holiday periods. For this weekend there are still free reservations available. Unless it is a holiday period, midweek parking remains free and first come, first served. With the storm this weekend, we will not be running the Sherwood Shuttle. We will not have the third lane built on Olympic Valley Road for ingress and egress as the road conditions could be slick and icy. If you are trying to get to the mountain without your personal vehicle, there are other free options: the Mountaineer Shuttle, which offers free rides in Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows, TART, and the free Park and Ride, available in both Truckee and Tahoe City with frequent rides between 6:30 a.m. and 5:45 p.m.
HOW TO GET OPERATIONS UPDATES:
Bookmark these pages:
Not wanting to check the website constantly? Try these other methods:
- Follow our Mountain Operations X (formerly Twitter) account
- Sign up for the Palisades Tahoe Ski & Ride Report (Weather Blogs + Conditions Blogs are included here)
- Download the Palisades Tahoe App
