Another major storm is headed for the Lake Tahoe region, a much-needed one that will rejuvenate the 2025-26 ski season that has seen a general lack of snowfall.
Depending on what forecast one believes, the storm could dump as much as 4 to 8 feet of snow to Tahoe ski resorts by the time it concludes late next week.
A more conservative prediction comes from Bryan Allegretto of OpenSnow, who says a series of cold storms could deliver upwards of 3-5 feet of snow to ski areas in Tahoe and along the West Slope of the Sierra.
“The storm system is signaling the start of a pattern change that could bring a cold storm series with almost continuous precipitation through much of next week,” Allegretto said. “Although storms haven’t been ongoing this season, they’ve arrived during busy holiday periods and have delivered significant amounts in short periods of time. This inbound storm series seems similar.”
OVERDUE SNOWFALL: Tahoe ski resorts were nervously awaiting the first big snowfall around Christmas time. It finally arrived a few days before Christmas, kick-starting a season that was hoping to get going a month earlier.
The monumental holiday storms over Christmas and New Year’s brought season snow totals to over 100 inches for eight Tahoe ski resorts, including a high of 163 inches at Sugar Bowl by Jan. 10.
Forecasters believe Saturday and most of Sunday will bring mild temperatures, light winds in lower elevations and good visibility at Tahoe ski resorts. But ridgetop winds are expected to increase Saturday and gusts on Sunday could reach 40 to 50 mph, which could impact upper mountain lifts at many resorts.
TRAVELING IN THE SIERRA: The National Weather Service is warning motorist regarding travel to and from Tahoe.
“Our message is that if you do have to travel this weekend, try to make it Sunday night at the latest,” National Weather Service meteorologist Justin Collins told SFGATE. “Once Monday rolls around, that storm is closing in and conditions will get pretty bad.”
Transportation officials are encouraging drivers to check Caltrans QuickMap for real-time chain controls, road closures and traffic conditions before heading into the mountains.
Snow levels could hover near 4,500 to 5,500 feet by early Monday, then drop to around 1,500 to 3,000 feet from Tuesday into Wednesday. That means snow will drop along Interstate-80 in Colfax, making driving treacherous from Truckee to as far west as Auburn. In the Tahoe region, the snow will be at lake level as early as Monday morning.
“I’d say that the best travel window is Friday through Sunday,” Collins said. “Once we get to Monday, that’s when we’ll see the travel impacts with potential whiteout conditions and heavy snow in the Sierra and over the Sierra passes. So conditions will get a bit dicey.”
