National Weather Service Forecast: Wet Weekend Ahead
UPDATED at 3:34am on January 7, 2017: “Snow with possible freezing rain today will transition to heavy rain and heavy mountain snow in most areas tonight, with extreme amounts of rain Sunday through early Monday. Significant flooding is expected for mainstem rivers, creeks, and streams Sunday into Monday. Another atmospheric river event is looking likely for the middle of next week with a couple of colder storms to follow the end of next week.” – NOAA Weather Discussion.
Resident Weather Blogger BA says…
“The next storm moves in Saturday in the early morning hours. It starts as snow to base level with snow falling through mid-morning. The snow levels rise to 7000 feet by midday and to 8000 feet by the end of the day. We could see several inches of snow below 8000 feet Saturday before the change to rain.
Saturday night snow levels rise to 9000 feet, and max out around 9500 feet Sunday morning. We could see several inches of snow above 8000 feet overnight before the change to rain. Sunday the snow levels should stay above the highest peaks with all rain and very heavy.
Then colder air works in and snow levels begin to fall Sunday night. The snow levels should fall back to 8000 by midnight Sunday night, and near the base by Monday morning. The snow could continue into Monday night as the main low moves inland. We could see significant snowfall after the snow levels fall, with totals of a foot or more at the base, and 1-3 feet on the mountain by Tuesday morning.” – BA
Limited Operations for Saturday – Monday
Alpine Meadows
Summit, Sherwood, Lakeview, Roundhouse and Scott are starting out on wind hold and winds are not expected to die down. We’re anticipating limited operations tomorrow and Monday as well due to high winds and heavy precipitation.
Squaw Valley
Same scenario at Squaw Valley this morning. Upper mountain lifts are closed due to wind. We expect wind holds on the upper mountain on Sunday and very limited operations due to variable conditions.
“As far as winds, they will be strong and gusty across ridge lines, with gusts peaking over 100 mph. Lower down, winds are not anticipated to be as strong with gusts mainly in the 20 to 30 mph range at most. However, a few periodic stronger gusts are possible, especially on Sunday.” – NOAA Weather Discussion
We advise you to be prepared for wet weather and limited operations this weekend. It is best to stay tuned to the Squaw Alpine app for all real-time resort information.
Snow Alert! MORE Snow in the Forecast for Tues/Wed: Up to 3 Feet
The good news is that we have an incoming storm following Sunday/Monday. Here’s what our weather blogger is predicting…
“No break as another significant storm moves in Tuesday into Wednesday. This one is colder and could bring 1-2 feet at the base, and 2-3 feet to the mountain by Wednesday night. Snow levels may rise to 6500-7000 feet briefly Tuesday night before falling back to lake level. Light snow showers possible Thursday. Then Friday into Saturday another storm is possible. This one could bring lesser amounts of snowfall, maybe around a foot.” – BA
