Snow is in the forecast for Halloween in the Lake Tahoe Area. NOAA is predicting snow at lake level and up to 14″ at the higher elevations.
Friday: Snow likely, mainly after 11am. Cloudy, with a high near 40. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 23 to 28 mph, with gusts as high as 41 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
Friday Night: Snow showers. Low around 23. South southwest wind 15 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.
Saturday: Snow showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 30. Windy, with a west southwest wind 8 to 18 mph increasing to 21 to 31 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 47 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.
NOAA Winter Storm Watch
URGENT – WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
317 AM PDT THU OCT 30 2014
…FIRST WINTER STORM OF THE SEASON FOR HALLOWEEN…
AN EARLY SEASON WINTER STORM WILL BRING A PERIOD OF MODERATE TO
HEAVY SNOW WITH GUSTY WINDS TO THE SIERRA FRIDAY EVENING INTO
SATURDAY MORNING. DRIVERS SHOULD EXPECT CHAIN CONTROLS AROUND THE
LAKE TAHOE BASIN AND WINTER CLOSERS FOR THE SIERRA PASSES IN
ALPINE AND MONO COUNTIES.
A WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON
THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING.
* TIMING: AN EARLY SEASON WINTER STORM WILL MOVE INTO THE LAKE
TAHOE BASIN AND ALPINE COUNTY FRIDAY AFTERNOON. A PERIOD OF
MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW IS LIKELY FRIDAY NIGHT.
* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: 8 TO 14 INCHES ABOVE 7000 FEET. UP TO 6
INCHES BELOW 7000 FEET…EXCEPT 5 TO 10 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE
ALONG AND WEST OF HIGHWAY 89.
* WINDS: SOUTHWEST 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 MPH. GUSTS
NEAR 60 MPH ARE POSSIBLE OVER RIDGES AND THROUGH MOUNTAIN
PASSES.
* SNOW LEVELS: 7500 TO 8000 FEET ON FRIDAY MORNING…LOWERING TO
6500 TO 7000 FEET FRIDAY EVENING…THEN FALLING TO NEAR 5000
FEET SATURDAY MORNING.
* IMPACTS: SLICK AND SNOW COVERED ROADS AROUND THE TAHOE BASIN
AND ALPINE COUNTY. THIS INCLUDES INTERSTATE 80 AND HIGHWAYS
50…88… 89…267 AND THE MOUNT ROSE HIGHWAY. SNOW MAY LEAD TO
THE WINTER CLOSURE OF EBBETTS AND MONITOR PASSES IN ALPINE
COUNTY.