Snowfall Report:
An additional 15 inches fell on the upper mountain over the past 24 hours as of 6 AM Tuesday morning, and 8 inches at the base. That brings the storm total so far to 13 inches at the base and 30 inches up top, with one more day of snowfall to go!
Tuesday Snow:
Tuesday is the final day of the storm, with a final push of moisture into the region as the center of the low-pressure system off of the coast spins through northern CA. That will bring steady snow during the day with snow showers into the evening before tapering off by early Wednesday morning.
It will be cold, with highs only in the 20s for the upper mountain to near 30 degrees at the base. Ridgetop winds are gusting up to 50-60+ mph Tuesday morning and will slowly diminish down to 30-50+ mph from the west by afternoon, and continue to lower into Tuesday night.
With the cold air in place for Tuesday, the snow ratios will be high, averaging around 14-18:1 on the mountain through Tuesday evening. That will bring us powdery snow for the final accumulations of around 7-12 inches at the base, 9-14 inches near mid-mountain, and 11-16 inches up top.
That will bring the totals up top to 3+ feet by Wednesday morning when we tally up the storm totals. A great start to April, and it’s not an April Fools joke!
Wednesday – Thursday Weather:
Partly – Mostly sunny and cold with lighter winds on Wednesday and Thursday. Highs in the 30s. With a moist airmass sticking around the region, afternoon snow showers could pop up over the mountain, but likely very scattered with little accumulations.
The Weekend:
Sunny and milder on Friday and Saturday, with highs into the 40s. A week system to our north could track close enough for a few afternoon showers to pop up either Sunday afternoon or Monday afternoon, but highs will be in the 40s on the mountains and 50s near lake level, so likely rain showers if any show up.
Long-Range Forecast:
High pressure in the West and a trough over the East is the pattern most models show for next week. The ensemble mean models show higher pressure remaining over the West through mid-month, with less of a chance now for a trough to push into the West Coast beyond the 12th as they were hinting at.
Overall, we may see a typical spring pattern with milder weather and a chance for weaker systems at times, bringing us a few showers, especially during the afternoons. Even though we may see weak systems at times, it looks like we could see below-average precipitation after this storm.
We’ll continue to watch for any more snowstorms through the end of the month.
BA
