It’s gonna get deep in Tahoe. Image: Youtube//Chris Tomer
After recording one of the snowiest Novembers in recent memory, December has been slow in Tahoe. That’s about to change this week with back-to-back storms set to drop more than two feet on some resorts.
Forecasts call for several inches after the midweek with Palisades, Tahoe expected to see the highest snowfall total in the area. The weekend will welcome a new system with Palisades once again winning the race and getting as much as 17 inches of powder on Saturday evening into Sunday morning. A possible third storm going into next week is in the mix as well.
“The first ‘storm’ arrives on Wednesday and is by far the weakest with the sole impact being an increase in Sierra ridge winds and mixing out hazy skies/any patchy fog,” the National Weather Service wrote early Monday. “The second storm arrives late Wednesday or early Thursday, bringing gusty winds and showers through Thursday night. While showers will be light, this storm has trended wetter with blended guidance giving the Sierra crest a 30-40 percent chance of 4+ inches of snowfall.”
The potential third storm looks to be the strongest, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Confidence is growing in forecasts for that to begin late Friday and persist into Sunday. Sugarbowl and Kirkwood are in line for almost three feet of snow with that storm.
Resort totals for the first storm, according to Snow Brains (Thursday through early Friday):
Palisades Tahoe: 5–9″ (Thursday night through Friday night)
Mammoth: 2–4″ (Thursday night through Thursday day)
Northstar: 2–4″ (Thursday night through Thursday day)
Heavenly: 2–3″ (Thursday night through Thursday day)
Mt Rose: 1–2″ (Thursday day)
Resort totals for the stronger weekend system (Saturday through Sunday):
Palisades Tahoe: 10–17″ (Saturday night through Sunday day)
Mammoth: 8–14″ (Saturday night through Sunday day)
Northstar: 6–10″ (Saturday night through Sunday night)
Heavenly: 4–7″ (Saturday night through Sunday night)
Mt Rose: 4–7″ (Saturday night through Sunday night)
Two resorts are projected to receive a prolonged period of snowfall spanning from the late-week wave straight through the weekend system as a single, long-duration event:
Sugar Bowl: 19–31″ total (Thursday day through Sunday day)
Kirkwood: 18–29″ total (Thursday day and night through Sunday day)
