For several days, the considerable winter storm delivered far more rain than snow at Lake Tahoe ski resorts.
But at most resorts, that all changed Tuesday when mostly snow fell in the Tahoe region, leading to some much-needed high snow totals. By Wednesday morning (Feb. 5), six Tahoe ski resorts reported double figures in snow totals, led by the 18 inches by both Mt. Rose and Palisades Tahoe received at their summits.
The snowfall is way overdue following an extremely dry January. It didn’t snow in Lake Tahoe from Jan. 4 to Jan. 31, leaving local ski resorts with meager totals for over-anxious skiers and snowboarders. February began with modest snow totals on the first day of the month, followed by two days of mostly rain.
SEE TAHOE SNOW REPORT BELOW
So, it was fantastic Wednesday to finally experience a powder day under the gorgeous blue skies that typify many winter days in Lake Tahoe. And Thursday is expected to deliver even more.
“While today is a beautiful bluebird day, another storm system is on the way,” said Palisades Tahoe spokesperson Patrick Lacey. “Snowfall is expected to begin mid-morning Thursday and intensify into the afternoon.”
By Friday, Lacey says Palisades Tahoe could see totals of around 4-8 inches at the base, 13-18 inches near mid-mountain, and 16-22 inches up top.
No resort has benefitted more this season in regards to seasonal snow totals than Sugar Bowl. The 14 inches that dropped Tuesday into Wednesday brought its 2024-25 total to 209 inches, the most among Tahoe ski resorts. Palisades Tahoe has received 192 inches and Mt. Rose is a close second – 1 inch behind at 191 inches.
While Tuesday’s snow dumped at multiple Tahoe ski resorts, not everyone was so fortunate. Diamond Peak received only 5 inches of fresh snow Wednesday morning and Sierra-at-Tahoe was reporting 3 inches.
“So far the storm has underdelivered compared to our hopes,” said Diamond Peak spokesperson Paul Raymore. “We received about 2 inches of snow overnight on top of a helping of rain. Yesterday during the day we got an additional 3 inches of pretty nice snow. So there’s new snow out there, but not quite the totals we were hoping for.”
BIG RIG CRASHES CLOSE I-80: Icy roads were the reported cause of seven big rig crashes and one serious injury on I-80 near Soda Springs on Wednesday morning.
The California Highway Patrol says falling temperatures caused the rain that had been periodically taken place Tuesday to freeze, creating the slick conditions on the roads Wednesday morning that temporarily shut down I-80.
One person sustained major injuries, and the driver of one crashed semi got out of his rig and was hit by another semi. He was flown to Reno in serious condition.
Eastbound I-80 at Colfax was closed after a big rig overturned near the Eagle Lakes road turnoff. The big rig hit the guardrail and flipped onto its side.
Both directions of I-80 were reopened by 7:19 a.m.
TAHOE SNOW REPORT (Feb. 5)
- Palisades Tahoe: 18 inches
- Mt. Rose: 18 inches
- Northstar: 15 inches
- Sugar Bowl: 14 inches
- Boreal: 14 inches
- Soda Springs: 13 inches
- Kirkwood: 8 inches
- Heavenly: 6 inches
- Tahoe Donner: 6 inches
- Diamond Peak: 5 inches
- Sierra-at-Tahoe: 3 inches
- Granlibakken: TBA
- Homewood: Closed for season
