Partly cloudy, warmer; No storms in the forecast
January 24, 2012 by Tahoe Loco
Filed under Weather Geek
Tuesday Jan. 24 6:54 am
The storm that brought about two feet of new snow to Tahoe Sunday night and Monday has moved east, but skies today remain cloudy to partly cloudy over much of the area. Highs should be in the high 30s today at 7000 feet.
A ridge of high pressure building over the Pacific will be strong enough to keep at least the next couple of storms to our north, but the tails ends are going to brush past Tahoe and bring us clouds and, in their wake, some north winds. A storm on Thursday could slip a little further south and bring some light showers as far south as Interstate 80 but not much further.
The ridge is forecast to strengthen later in the week, keeping skies clearer and temperatures warmer as we head into the weekend.
Stay tuned for updates.
Two feet new; skies clearing by tonight
January 23, 2012 by Tahoe Loco
Filed under Weather Geek
Monday Jan. 23 8:24 AM
Winter’s here. But will it soon be gone, again?
The third in a series of three winter storms that have finally ushered in winter to Tahoe is clinging to the Sierra Crest this morning. The storm brought 18 to 24 inches of new snow overnight and snow showers through this morning should push those totals up another 4 to 6 inches. It looks like areas south of Tahoe might get the best of the rest as this storm is still carrying a decent amount of moisture that way. By tonight skies should be clearing.
A ridge of high pressure is forecast to rebuild off the California coast, once again sending storms off the Pacific on a line north of Tahoe and then into the Great Basin in Nevada. Two storms moving through Oregon this week will only brush past us, perhaps bringing a few clouds and breezy conditions but no precipitation.
Temperatures will warm again, bringing spring like conditions to the region by mid week.
The next chance for snow will be the weekend, when an “inside slider” could move down the east side of the Cascades into Nevada, clipping Tahoe with its backside. But even that one looks doubtful at the moment.
So we are back in the wait and see mode, waiting for that ridge to weaken again. It’s not likely to sit there for another two months as it did earlier. The long range models have been showing more precipitation by early February.
Stay tuned.
Third storm’s the charm
January 22, 2012 by Tahoe Loco
Filed under Weather Geek
Sunday, Jan. 22 2012 7:00 am.
It’s on, Tahoe.
The third in a series of winter storms to sweep through the Sierra is on track for arrival later today, and it looks like a beauty.
This system is tapping into enough moisture to drop more than an inch of water-content precipitation above 5000 feet and perhaps two inches at the Sierra Crest by noon Monday. With colder temperatures and decent snow-to-water ratios, that should translate into around a foot of snow at the Lake and up to two feet above 7000 feet.
Temperatures will not be super cold, but they will be colder than with Friday’s storm, fortunately. Look for lows in the low 20s tonight and highs in the mid-20s at 7000 feet Monday. Snow levels will be around 4,500 feet to 5,000 feet on the western slope throughout the event.
Snow is forecast to taper to snow showers on Monday as this system moves east.
Two more waves out of the Northwest on Tuesday and Wednesday are on track to miss Tahoe as they skirt by to our north, so the rest of the week looks pretty dry.
But after this storm, it should at least look, and feel, like winter for a while.