Storm 2 Arrives

Posted March 21, 7:10 am MT 6:10 am PT

Storm 2 Hits Tahoe Today, Utah Tonight

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Forecast Discussion

Alta is sitting at 696 and will break the 700 mark today. What a year they are having, they are about a foot away from 3 place, all time, when they reach 709. 748 is the all-time record.

Storm 2 is rapidly moving into place and its low-pressure area is spinning, counterclockwise, off the coast of California. The snow will begin this morning, before the lifts open, with heavy snow throughout the day tapering off late tonight.

Another round will fire up tomorrow morning, likely around 10 or 11 with moderate amounts expected. The best snow will be along the crest and south of the lake, where Mammoth looks to have 2-3 feet by Tomorrow.

The storm reaches Utah late this afternoon. A few inches are possible before the lifts close, but otherwise expect a nice powder day tomorrow with a fresh foot of snow at the usual spots. The storm will continue throughout the day Wednesday with another foot expected. More snow Wednesday night, then a brief lull Thursday, then Storm 3 moves in Thursday night.

In Colorado, heavy snow continues in the southern mountains, especially Wolf Creek, where 3 feet is expected by tomorrow morning. Elsewhere, a nice powder day today at Steamboat and Beaver Creek. The heaviest snow will fall in the San Juans, but I expect there to be multiple spots with 6+ in the Central ranges, lesser amounts for the northern resorts.

Storm 3 hits the Pacific Northwest coast Thursday, finally brining some decent numbers, hopefully to the Cascades, as these first two storms have missed the Pacific Northwest, Just a few inches at Mt Hood and Crystal.

Tahoe Calendar

Below is the Lake Tahoe Calendar we published back on February 2nd. I have gone back and took a look at the calendars to see how we have done. The green squares are on the Long-Range Forecast prediction chart. Yellow squares are storms that have hit at least one cycle. Red Circles and X’s are misses and the Blue brackets are storms that have hit at within one day.

I am really happy with this calendar. We have tried to figure out the Lake, as it is on a different type of cycle, due to its location away from the general pattern jet stream. We are improving, the patent pending model has made forecasting Lake Tahoe easier.

Forecast

Lake Tahoe

Today

The next storm moves in this morning with heavy snow throughout the Sierra. Expect winds to start off light, but will become strong by afternoon, winds between 25-30 mph with base level gusts around 40 mph. Ridgetop winds in the low 50’s. Temperatures will be in the upper 20’s to around freezing, at lake level.

Wednesday

There will likely be a break between Tuesday nights snowfall and Wednesday morning, but the snow should pick up by the afternoon. Temperatures will be in the upper 20’s with light winds, for Tahoe, in the 10-15 range.

Utah

Today

Today will start out with partly cloudy skies and cold temps, but will gradually warm up to the upper 20’s, by early afternoon. The next round should begin around 1, or so. Heavy snow is possible, but I expect most of the heavy snow to occur after 5 pm.

Wednesday

Heavy snow throughout the day with strong winds with this one. Expect winds between 20-30 mph with 40 mph gusts and ridgetop gusts in the 50’s.

Colorado

Today

Heavy snow in the southern mountains today with temperatures much colder, with highs in the upper 20’s. Winds will be moderate between 10-15 mph with gusts around the mid 20’s.

Wednesday

Strong winds will dominate the day, especially along the divide, with ridgetop gusts in the 50’s. Temperatures will rise, due to the strong southwest wind, into the upper 30’s at 8000 feet.