Monday System:
The Monday system will bring in colder air and gusty winds. Expect some possible upper mountain lift closures as west winds gust up to 70+ mph. High temperatures drop into the 30s at the base and 20s up top.
A few snow showers are possible Monday afternoon and evening. Only expecting enough for a dusting up to an inch of snow on the mountain.
Tuesday – Wednesday:
Tuesday into Wednesday the sun returns and the winds come down for Tuesday. But it stays cold with highs in the 30s. Wednesday the winds begin to crank back up by afternoon ahead of the next storm. Southwest winds gusting up to 50+ mph over the ridges.
Thursday Storm:
The next storm is still on track to dig south into CA Thursday. The latest model runs continue to show the system tapping into moisture off of the Pacific with a weak AR (atmospheric river) pointed at the Sierra Thursday afternoon-evening. The limiting factor with this storm could be the fast movement of the moisture feed from north to south through CA.
Winds crank up to over 100 mph over the ridgetops Thursday so expect some lift closures. The moisture is forecast to reach the Tahoe Basin around late morning and continue through Thursday night, then clearing Friday. Snow levels may start out just below the base and fall below 4000 ft. Thursday night.
That means this storm could start with thicker snow Thursday that turns more powdery with the snow showers behind the moisture stream Thursday night. The latest model runs show enough precipitation for around 1-2 feet of new snow on the mountain with this storm if the current model trends continue.
The storm is forecast to wind down by late morning Friday with clearing Friday afternoon. The winds should come down some Friday morning as well for a good powder day.
Long-Range:
Another storm is still on track to move in by Saturday night into next Sunday the 4th. This system could also tap additional moisture off of the Pacific. Currently, the amounts look to be less than the Thursday storm, but it could still be another decent shot of new snow. We’ll continue to track it all week.
The long-range models suggest that troughing could be over CA more than not over the next 2+ weeks, so the pattern may remain fairly active.
BA
