Tuesday-Thursday:
A cold front moved through early Tuesday morning bringing a few flakes. It also ushered in colder air for Tuesday with highs only into the 30s. Similar weather Wednesday and warming a bit with 40s at the base for Thursday.
Breezy winds expected for Tue – Wed with ridgetop winds continuing to gust from the west up to 30+ mph Tuesday and turning from the east up to 30+ mph for Wednesday. Lighter winds expected Thursday.
Christmas Night Storm:
The next storm may push into northern California as early as Friday afternoon. Then a cold front continuing snow Friday night with snow showers lingering into Saturday morning before ending by afternoon. Clouds and gusty winds increasing through the day on Friday, with gusts up to 90+ mph up top by Friday afternoon likely affecting upper mountain lifts.
Snow moves in around 1-4 PM, becoming heavier Friday evening into Friday night. Snow levels may initially start just above the base around 6500 ft, but falling later in the evening below the base. Snow showers linger behind the cold front into Saturday morning before clearing by afternoon. Strong winds drop off on Saturday.
The forecast hasn’t changed much this morning. We could see 5-9 inches of snow at the base, 9-13 at mid-mountain, and 12-16 inches up top by Saturday afternoon. We will continue to fine-tune the forecast all week.
Sunday Night – Monday Storm:
We may see a break from Saturday afternoon through most of Sunday with colder temperatures and highs in the 30s. Winds may become gusty again Sunday ahead of the next storm. The next system moves in Sunday night into Monday bringing more snow to the mountain. This storm looks colder but may bring less snowfall than the Friday night storm.
This system is a closed low moving in to our south over central/southern CA and may split apart as it moves through CA. Those are not the best dynamics for heavy snow over the Tahoe Basin. This storm is colder with all snow to the base. We could pick up several more inches of fresh snow on the mountain by Monday afternoon. More details as we get closer.
Long-Range:
We may see a break next Tuesday – Wednesday. The next storm is possible on New Year’s Eve, but the long-range models are all over the place with the pattern beyond a week. We may see storms continue through the 1st week of January, or the storm track may shift to our north. We’ll continue to watch the trend as we get closer.
BA
