Winter advisory issued for Tahoe; About a foot of snow expected for mountains
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — A storm entering the Lake Tahoe Basin to start the work week is expected to impact mountain travel and bring strong, gusty winds through Tuesday morning.
The National Weather Service in Reno issued a winter weather advisory early Monday morning that forecasts about a foot of snow above 7,000 feet with a few inches possible for lake level and winds approaching triple digits over Sierra ridge tops.
The advisory goes into effect at 4 p.m. Monday and lasts through 7 a.m. Tuesday morning and officials are expecting anywhere from 8-20 inches of snow at 7,000 feet and above. Snow levels are expected to start somewhere near lake level on Monday and rise above 8,000 overnight.
“Snow levels will be highly variable with potential for areas of similar elevation to receive big differences in snow amounts,” the service said in a special weather statement.
The wind in the basin will gust up to 25 mph, up to 55 mph over mountain passes and 95 mph for mountaintops.
The south to southwest winds will create hazardous conditions on the lake with waves possibly reaching up to 4 feet on the north and east shores.
The main travel impacts in the basin are likely through Monday evening, then over passes overnight into Tuesday affecting the morning commute. The service said to plan for slippery roads and poor visibility during the advisory.
There may be travel restrictions for high profile vehicles in the valley, particularly along Interstate 580 and U.S. Highway 395. Other impacts include moderate to severe turbulence for aviation.
After the storm clears out Tuesday evening, it appears the basin will be dry for the next several days.
The forecast for the rest of the week calls for mostly sunny skies with a high of about 47 on Wednesday before rising to the mid 50s into the weekend.
The service said they are seeing a “highly amplified ridge” over the western U.S. through at least mid November which will likely bring seasonably warm days and cool nights with generally light winds.
Starting somewhere in the Nov. 16-18 range officials are seeing a potential chance for precipitation with temperatures trending downward.
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