Spring is here, and it’s here to stay!

April fools.

Don’t forget, intrepid readers, this is Lake Tahoe. Even though the official first day of spring was more than a week ago, the basin won’t be receiving warm, snow-free weather on a consistent basis for another month or so.

“(The recent snowfall) is not unusual at all this time of year,” said Jim Ashby, climatologist for the Western Regional Climate Center. “You can get this well into May. Winter precipitation is not near over up there.”

Oasis Aviation reported that 10 inches of snow fell at South Shore Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. And the National Weather Service’s Reno office is saying more is possible. There was a chance of snow last night, and the possibility continues today, Friday and Saturday. High temperatures are expected in the low 50s or high 40s; lows likely will be in the 20s.

The area had a few warm, sunny days prior to the recent cold front.

Ashby said periods of nice weather followed by cold spells likely will be the trend until summer. Snowfall will slowly decrease, but temperatures will remain cold.

Lake Tahoe’s average high temperatures for April are in the low 50s. April’s low temperatures are in the mid 20s. The highs in May are in the low 60s; lows are in the 30s.

Of course, that wasn’t the case in 1998.

“Last year was a miserable, miserable spring, one of the coldest on record,” Ashby said. “Hopefully, that’s not going to happen again this year.”