Snowfall Report:
The snow moved in Friday afternoon and continue overnight. As of 5 a.m. the mountain is reporting 7-9 inches at the base and 11-12 inches up top! The forecast was for 7-11 inches of snow for the storm, and we still have snow showers falling Saturday morning. So we will get the overage on this one!
Saturday:
Strong winds Saturday morning with gusts to 90+ mph likely causing lift opening delays for the upper mountain. Snow showers linger Saturday morning with an additional 1-4 inches of snow possible on the mountain. The strong winds will begin to drop off through the day with clearing skies through the afternoon. Highs only in the 20s on the upper mountain and 30s at the base.
Sunday Night Storm:
We should see a break in the action through most of Sunday with increasing clouds in the afternoon. Colder temperatures continue with highs in the 20s on the upper mountain and 30s at the base. Winds turning to the south and then east and gusting up to 30 mph up top.
The next system moves in Sunday evening and lasts into Monday morning bringing the chance for light snow showers. This system is moving in to our south over central/southern CA with the heaviest snowfall staying to the south. This storm is colder with all snow to the base and higher snow ratios with a more powdery snow. That will help fluff the snowfall even with the light precip amounts.
We could see an additional 1-4 inches at the base, and 2-5 inches on the mountain by Monday morning. We begin to clear out Monday afternoon with a few scattered snow showers still possible. Cold with highs in the 20s on the upper mountain and 30s at the base.
Tuesday – New Year’s Eve:
We should see mostly sunny skies for Tuesday but it remains cold through the upcoming week. Highs in the 30s at the base and 20s for the upper mountain. Lighter winds expected as well. Wednesday we may see some sun in the morning and increasing clouds in the afternoon as the next system approaches.
The forecast models are still struggling with how far south the next system tracks as it moves into the Pacific NW Wednesday night into New Year’s Eve. They are all trending towards better agreement on a weak system brushing Tahoe and the northern Sierra with some light snow.
We will look at the initial snowfall forecast Sunday morning as we get into the 5-day window. Right now it looks like we could see single-digit snowfall amounts and maybe only up to a few inches. We will take a closer look over the next few days.
Long-Range:
The pattern may remain active with additional storms moving through northern CA through the 1st week of January. We will have to track each one to see if they track far enough south for accumulating snowfall on the mountain.
BA
