Due to severe weather conditions, every Tahoe ski resort was closed Monday (Dec. 27).
An intense winter storm, that has been characterized by powerful winds and whiteout blizzard conditions, continued to pound the Lake Tahoe region early Monday, shutting down many of the main transportation arteries and precipitating ski resort closures.
It was a second straight day of mass closures. Heavenly Mountain and Diamond Peak were the only Tahoe ski resorts open Sunday, but both were closed Monday.
SEE TAHOE SNOW REPORT BELOW
The extreme weather Monday also included an avalanche, low visibility and strong winds that are creating huge snow drifts.
Early Monday morning, the weather conditions triggered an avalanche that shut down Highway 89 between River Ranch and Tahoe City.
The weather was also hindering the continued search for a missing skier at Northstar California ski resort who hasn’t been seen for two days (see more details below).
LATEST SNOW TOTALS: Tahoe ski resorts were reporting between 23 to 39 inches of new snow Monday morning.
Boreal Mountain received more than 3 feet of new snow (39 inches), the second most in the Tahoe region. That brings its season total to 270 inches.
Mt. Rose got 36 inches and has received a little more than 9 feet (109 inches) from the latest storms and has the most snow this season (275 inches) of any Tahoe ski resort.
The bad news is State Route 431 (Mt. Rose Highway) has been closed the past two days.
Northstar was reporting 35 inches of new snow Monday, 117 inches over the past week and 252 inches for the season
“We are only 18 percent of the way into the ski season and the ski areas have already picked up around 61 percent of their total season averages as a whole,” said OpenSnow Forecaster Bryan Allegretto.
MISSING NORTHSTAR SKIER: The challenging weather conditions were slowing the search for 43-year-old Rory Angelotta. The Truckee resident has been missing since Saturday morning.
According to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, Angelotta was reported missing when he failed to show up for a Christmas night dinner with friends. His car was located in a Northstar parking lot and his cell phone calls have gone directly to voicemail.
Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue, Nevada County Search and Rescue and Northstar Ski Patrol were searching for Angelotta in difficult conditions Sunday.
Angelotta’s ski pass was scanned at the Comstock lift at 11:30 am. There has been no other activity registered to his pass since that time Saturday.
“Searchers responded and combed the mountain and surrounding areas, despite extreme weather,” the Sheriff’s office said. “Rescue personnel were on skis, snowmobiles, and a snowcat during their search. They faced high avalanche danger, strong winds, whiteout flurries, frigid temperatures, and heavy snow loads before calling off their search in the evening.”
Angelotta is known to be an experienced skier and Sheriff’s personnel believe he was carrying avalanche equipment. He is a manager at the Surefoot custom ski boot store in Northstar Village.
WEATHER, ROADS UPDATE: The National Weather Service (NWS) has a winter storm warning in place through 9 p.m. Monday across the entire Sierra Nevada mountain range.
Weather forecasters are predicting another 3 to 15 inches of snow Monday and perhaps as much 2 feet at higher elevations at Tahoe ski resorts.
A 70-mile stretch of I-80 from Colfax, extending through the Lake Tahoe region to the Nevada state line, was shut down Sunday and Monday. There’s no timetable for its reopening.
There was light snow Monday morning in Placerville off Highway 50, where the elevation is 1,867 feet. Highway 50 has been closed Sunday and Monday.
A tweet from Placer County Sheriff’s Office stated – “We are asking anyone and everyone to please stay home today. I-80 closed in BOTH directions at Applegate due to trees down.”
Allegretto says the snow will continue Monday morning with snow showers into the afternoon/evening, and then clearing Monday night.
Wind gusts up to 60 mph are expected in the Truckee and South Lake Tahoe areas Monday, with gusts well over 100 mph possible at the ridges, according to weather service forecasts.
TAHOE SNOW REPORT (new snow, season total, Dec. 27)
- Mt. Rose: 36-275 inches
- Boreal: 39-270 inches
- Northstar: 35-252 inches
- Palisades: 30-243 inches
- Sugar Bowl: 30-240 inches
- Homewood: 36-238 inches
- Diamond Peak: 27-201 inches
- Tahoe Donner: 36-184 inches
- Kirkwood: 23-171 inches
- Heavenly: 23-167 inches
- Soda Springs: NA
- Granlibakken: NA
