New Snow at Incline Village Christmas Day

Dec. 23, 2010

Go to my weather cam page for real time weather updates.

Merry Christmas ,  Tim Lampe!!!
Tahoe won't see fresh snow on Christmas Morning. But it will be close.

Today and Friday should be mostly clear and warmer across the Tahoe Basin ahead of another modest-sized winter storm headed our way on Christmas Day.

A low pressure system out of the Gulf of Alaska is forecast to move across the Northern California coast early Saturday before bringing rain and snow to the Sierra Saturday afternoon and into Sunday. Snow levels are expected to start out around 5,000 feet and drop to perhaps 4,000 feet as the cold front moves through.

The southerly trajectory of this storm is not ideal for maximum snow production, and the system now appears likely to split apart as it runs up against a ridge of high pressure over the west. But with an inch of rain likely in California's Central Valley we could still see about 12 inches to 18 inches of snow at 7,000 feet with a bit more possible at the highest elevations around the region.

Snow showers will likely linger into Monday and perhaps even Tuesday before another system moves into the region by mid-week. That storm will be an "inside slider" coming almost straight down from the north, which means it will be colder, but it also has the potential to tap into a decent plume of moisture over the Pacific. We will need to keep our eyes on that one.


Tahoe Outdoors: Coming events

The next show in the Lake Tahoe Adventure Slide Show Series sponsored by The BackCountry will be on Saturday, Jan. 15 at Squaw Valley Olympic Plaza Bar.  Dan Mingori is a Bishop local High Sierra ski touring fanatic, author of the latest backcountry Eastern Sierra Ski touring Guidebook, and unreal photographer. His show "Ticklists" will ring true with a lot of you. Oly Plaza Bar is above Dave's Deli, at the bottom of the mountain. Shows start right at 8pm this year and usually last one hour. Arrive early for a seat. There is comfortable seating for about 200, and pretty good standing room for another 100. Most shows fill the room completely by 8:10 and the show has started.

The Tahoe Rim Trail Association will be celebrating National Winter Trails Day Jan. 8 from 10 am until 2 p.m. near the west end of Tahoe Meadows on the south side of Mt. Rose Highway. The TRTA will be offering free guided snowshoe hikes throughout the day, providing users with useful information on winter travel as well as dramatic views of Lake Tahoe. Tahoe Mountain Sports will also be on site to showcase winter recreation gear, from MSR and Kahtoola snowshoes to avalanche beacons and probes. A presentation by the American Red Cross on winter safety and preparedness will take place at noon, along with an assortment of other talks on how to make this winter season as enjoyable as possible. For younger winter enthusiasts, there will be an ongoing snowman contest throughout the day, along with snow shelter construction and demonstrations. See www.tahoerimtrail.org for more info.