Following another day of constant snowfall, the snow continues to pile up at Tahoe ski resorts.
Both Sierra-at-Tahoe and family-friendly Tahoe Donner reported the most snow Wednesday with 32 inches. The snowfall ranged from 15-32 inches at the summit of Tahoe ski resorts.
Two-day totals (see below) are best measured in feet – not inches. Tahoe ski resorts have gotten 2-4 feet of snow from Tuesday morning through Wednesday night.
TAHOE SNOW REPORT (two-day totals, reported Jan. 28)
- Mt. Rose: 22-28 – 50 inches
- Tahoe Donner: 13-32 – 45 inches
- Sierra-at-Tahoe: 10-32 – 42 inches
- Squaw Valley: 14-28 – 42 inches
- Alpine Meadows: 14-28 – 42 inches
- Homewood: 12-28 – 40 inches
- Sugar Bowl: 9-30 – 39 inches
- Kirkwood: 11-27 – 38 inches
- Boreal: 12-24 – 36 inches
- Soda Springs: 12-24 – 36 inches
- Northstar: 11-24 – 35 inches
- Heavenly: 12-22 – 34 inches
- Diamond Peak: 10-15 – 25 inches
A note on the Sierra-at-Tahoe website sums up the message for skiers and snowboarders this week who are braving conditions and visiting Tahoe ski resorts during the storm,
“Brush up on deep snow safety before heading to the mountain. We got absolutely dumped on and the fresh snow measures over 2 feet in many pockets around the resort,” the Sierra website message says. “I would say happy powder hunting, but there’s not much need to ‘hunt’ for it today!”
SEASON SNOW TOTALS CLIMBING: The snow keeps piling up at Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, which has received 42 inches the past two days, including 28 inches reported Thursday morning.
Squaw now has 160 inches for the 2021 season, the most among Tahoe ski resorts. Thanks to this week’s extreme snowfall, 12 of Tahoe’s 13 ski resorts now have 100 or more inches this season.
Mt. Rose ski resort in Nevada (near Incline Village) received the most snow Tuesday with 22 inches and followed up with 28 more Wednesday. It’s two-day total of 50 inches (4-plus feet) is the most among Tahoe ski resorts.
The huge amount of snow is welcome, but Tahoe ski resorts are universally struggling to keep up with maintaining their lift systems. During the past three days, some lifts have remained closed due to the severe weather conditions, which includes high winds, blizzard-like conditions in some cases, and temperatures in the 20s.
Mt. Rose is experiencing typical issues dealing with the huge amount of new snow. The resort was closed Wednesday and Thursday it had a delayed opening until 10 a.m., eventually opening four lifts and adding perhaps one more.
THURSDAY SNOWFALL 1-3 feet: According to Bryan Allegretto, California Snow Forecaster for OpenSnow.com, the snowfall will continue Thursday, becoming lighter Thursday night into Friday morning, before stopping.
Allegretto is predicting between 1-3 feet of snow Thursday at the summit of Tahoe ski resorts. He says Sierra-at-Tahoe, Northstar, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, Sugar Bowl and Boreal are expected to receive the most snow Thursday through Friday morning.
“The snow continues to fall this morning with the atmospheric river still aimed at the region,” Allegretto writes. “That will start to pivot a bit more today with more of a south to north orientation. That usually brings less spillover to the east side of the basin and is not as good for the orographic enhancement of the precipitation from the mountains.”
WEEKEND WEATHER: The ridgetop winds were gusting to 60-plus mph Thursday morning, but are forecast to continue to slowly come down through the day and lighter for Friday.
There should be a flood of skiers and riders at Tahoe ski resorts this weekend after the big snowfall, and with a forecast for a nice, partly sunny weekend. High temperatures should be in the 30s at lake level and 20s for the upper mountains.
EXTENDED FORECAST: Expect a break in the snow for the weekend and into Monday. Then Allegretto says another storm moves in Monday afternoon/evening, lasting into Tuesday. Starting Wednesday we could transition into a drier pattern, but cold systems could start to drop down from the north the second week of February.
Allegretto predicts heavy snow should start Monday afternoon (Feb. 1) and conclude sometime Tuesday with the range of snowfall being 10-33 inches at the summit of Tahoe ski resorts.
“We should clear out by Wednesday with a high-pressure ridge building in off the West Coast, which will bring a drier pattern for the second half of next week and likely through the 1st weekend of February,” reports Allegretto.
