BY JEFFREY WEIDEL
A winter storm has descended on the Lake Tahoe region and resulted in a powder day for many skiers and snowboarders who are taking advantage of the new snow totals at Lake Tahoe ski resorts.
More than a foot of snow has been reported by Northstar California, Sugar Bowl, and both Squaw and neighboring Alpine Meadows. Mt. Rose reported up to 9 inches from the storm and Kirkwood received 7 inches.
The South Lake Tahoe resorts weren’t as fortunate, but both Heavenly Mountain and Sierra-at-Tahoe received 4 inches of new snow Friday and overnight.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the snowfall is expected to continue, with the possibility of five additional inches of snow in the upper elevations.
The NOAA reports that a second storm will move into the region late Sunday, with more snow forecasted through Tuesday morning.
Sugar Bowl ski resort is definitely one of the fortunate ones. The resort off Interstate 80 at the Norden exit received 6-12 inches of snow Friday and may receive similar snow totals today with the snow continuing to fall.
“We will probably have a good 12-18 inches out there by 11 this morning, which is significantly more than forecasters were originally calling for out of this system. And more in the forecast too,” Sugar Bowl spokesperson John Monson said.
The new snow has allowed Sugar Bowl to open more lifts and terrain, including the Crow’s Peak chair.
“Recent colder temps allowed us to fire the snow guns all week on the Judah side, and with the latest snow we are able to open up that side (Judah) of the mountain too,” Monson said. “Needless to say, the mountain operations team and ski patrol is out there taking full advantage of the storm, prepping and readying as much terrain as possible for skiers and riders.”
The winter storm has dropped 17 inches of fresh snow on the upper mountains and snow continues to fall today at both Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows.
Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows are currently open for skiing and riding with 28 lifts spinning across both mountains.
Northstar California was reporting 16 inches of fresh snow since Friday afternoon. Currently, the mountain is experiencing very intense snowfall and an additional 6 inches is forecast for tonight. Overnight temperatures are expected to dip into the teens and low 20s.
Winter has definitely returned at Diamond Peak as well. The Incline Village resort received 4-8 inches of snow yesterday and overnight, and added another 8 inches by noon today as it continues to dump.
“That brings our snow total up to 12-16 inches from this storm. The snow conditions are fantastic,” said Diamond Peak spokesperson Kaya Anderson.
Jeffrey Weidel can be reached at skiweidel@gmail.com. Thanks for visiting his winter website at www.tahoeskiworld.com
