News
ENLARGE
After weeks waiting for the weather to change and the snow to fly at Lake Tahoe, there’s some potentially good news to report: Cold weather and snow are on the way.'
How cold and how much snow remains to be seen, but the high-pressure weather pattern that has kept Lake Tahoe mild and dry will end Friday with high winds followed by low temperatures and snow, said Scott McGuire, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Reno.
“We will definitely get snow, but it’s hard to tell right now how much,” McGuire said. “I would say there’s the potential for 6 inches in the higher elevations. It’s not going to be a real snow maker, but at least it will get us started.”
The storm system will come out of the Gulf of Alaska and begin to sweep through Lake Tahoe sometime Saturday. Snow levels will dip to the valley floor and temperatures are expected to plummet at least 20 degrees for the daytime highs.
High temperatures for Saturday and Sunday will be in the 20s, with lows in the low teens.
Snow levels are expected to drop to all valley floors but the amount of moisture with this system remains uncertain, according to the weather service. What is certain, however, is the high-pressure air pattern that has dominated central California and the Southwest will come to an end.
Some Lake Tahoe ski resorts have been using man-made snow to get by, including Heavenly Mountain Resort and Northstar-at-Tahoe.
Others, like Sierra-at-Tahoe, must rely on natural snow to open. The prospect of future storms has ski officials anxious.
“Sierra resort is ready to open as soon as Mother Nature sends us the snow,” said spokeswoman Kirstin Cattell. “We’re crossing our fingers and looking forward to what the system will bring into the area.”
Heavenly Mountain Resort, which has two runs open, hopes to open a third and maybe a fourth run by the weekend. Cold weather this week will allow the snowmaking guns to run continually, said spokesman Russ Pecoraro.
“We’re looking forward to any natural snow we can get, but the big news for us is the cold air that is coming. We’ve been running our snowmaking around the clock and will continue to do so and work toward getting more terrain open.”
The hope is to have California Trail, which connects Nevada and California from the top of Tamarack to the top of the gondola, open by the weekend.
“It will give us more skiing in that upper Nevada pod,” he said. “We’re also looking at Big Easy to try to get some true beginner terrain.”
Kirkwood officials were unavailable for comment.
According to the National Weather Service, the Sierra have only about 2 percent of the average snowfall for the season. The lake level is less than one inch above the natural rim of the lake. The last time the lake went below the natural rim was in January 2005.
How cold and how much snow remains to be seen, but the high-pressure weather pattern that has kept Lake Tahoe mild and dry will end Friday with high winds followed by low temperatures and snow, said Scott McGuire, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Reno.
“We will definitely get snow, but it’s hard to tell right now how much,” McGuire said. “I would say there’s the potential for 6 inches in the higher elevations. It’s not going to be a real snow maker, but at least it will get us started.”
The storm system will come out of the Gulf of Alaska and begin to sweep through Lake Tahoe sometime Saturday. Snow levels will dip to the valley floor and temperatures are expected to plummet at least 20 degrees for the daytime highs.
High temperatures for Saturday and Sunday will be in the 20s, with lows in the low teens.
Snow levels are expected to drop to all valley floors but the amount of moisture with this system remains uncertain, according to the weather service. What is certain, however, is the high-pressure air pattern that has dominated central California and the Southwest will come to an end.
Some Lake Tahoe ski resorts have been using man-made snow to get by, including Heavenly Mountain Resort and Northstar-at-Tahoe.
Others, like Sierra-at-Tahoe, must rely on natural snow to open. The prospect of future storms has ski officials anxious.
“Sierra resort is ready to open as soon as Mother Nature sends us the snow,” said spokeswoman Kirstin Cattell. “We’re crossing our fingers and looking forward to what the system will bring into the area.”
Heavenly Mountain Resort, which has two runs open, hopes to open a third and maybe a fourth run by the weekend. Cold weather this week will allow the snowmaking guns to run continually, said spokesman Russ Pecoraro.
“We’re looking forward to any natural snow we can get, but the big news for us is the cold air that is coming. We’ve been running our snowmaking around the clock and will continue to do so and work toward getting more terrain open.”
The hope is to have California Trail, which connects Nevada and California from the top of Tamarack to the top of the gondola, open by the weekend.
“It will give us more skiing in that upper Nevada pod,” he said. “We’re also looking at Big Easy to try to get some true beginner terrain.”
Kirkwood officials were unavailable for comment.
According to the National Weather Service, the Sierra have only about 2 percent of the average snowfall for the season. The lake level is less than one inch above the natural rim of the lake. The last time the lake went below the natural rim was in January 2005.
