Celebration time in Tahoe? Photo: Andrew Miller
In case you hadn’t heard, parts of the West are getting absolutely pounded by precipitation this week as an atmospheric river hangs over the Left Coast. Some western ski resorts are expected to get between two and three feet of snow.
“Significant snowfall (was) falling in the Sierra Monday morning,” wrote our friends at Powderchasers. “This system is pushing north into the Wood River Valley (Sun Valley) and the Tetons in the short term. Significant snowfall will crush the Four Corners (of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona) midweek. Further north, snow continues like a freight train (slow and steady) with some areas picking up 2-3 feet.”
Indeed, the Tahoe Basin definitely scored during the storm over the weekend that continued into Monday. Tuesday morning, Palisades Tahoe was reporting nearly 50 inches in the last seven days. South of Lake Tahoe, Kirkwood racked up solid snow as well, reporting near identical totals to Palisades in the last week, and 26 inches in the last 48 hours.
With all the rain in Southern California, the San Bernardino mountains have been getting hit, too. Big Bear Resort reported 10 inches overnight. Mountain High, on the I-15 side, also got 10 inches overnight with 30 inches in the last 48 hours.
Idaho’s Sun Valley has been in the same storm track as the Tahoe region. The Idaho classic is reporting 10 inches overnight with a lot more on the way. All sorts of southern resorts are expected to continue to get snow.
“The highlights come midweek,” writes Powderchasers. “Strong moisture pushes into the Four Corners. Significant snow will be falling late Tuesday to Wednesday for the San Juan Range. Very significant totals will be found in southern Nevada (Lee Canyon), northern Arizona (Arizona Snow Bowl), southern Utah and the southern San Juan Range in Colorado. Several feet will be the end result by late Wednesday. New Mexico is currently a wildcard.
“At the same time that the Four Corners gets crushed, additional moisture will push north into Sun Valley and the Tetons. Wednesday morning could be deep in SV, while the Tetons continue to see a steady chug of moderate events (sum totals will be 10-20 inches over the next 3-4 days).”
Lee Canyon outside Las Vegas (currently busting at the seems thanks to Super Bowl weekend) had a crazy week. The resort is supposedly really fun to ride when it has good snow years (a rarity). And this is one. However, Lee Canyon received enough snow to cause an inbounds avalanche yesterday.
Multiple skiers and riders were reported missing by authorities after said avalanche. “Four people were initially reported missing. Everyone has been located and is safe. We are currently assisting people off the mountain,” wrote the Las Vegas Metro Police in a Tweet. The current storm cycle hitting Southern California and Nevada is expected to last through at least this afternoon.
