Weather update from the Tahoe Weather Geek April 22, 2010

Ground Hog Day has long since passed for the year, but the forecast for the coming week would fit right into the script from the movie of the same name. It looks like a carbon copy of this past week.

A low pressure system that has brought winter like conditions back to the Tahoe Basin since Tuesday will slowly move south and east today but will continue to bring a threat of rain and snow showers to the region.

The low has been centered in southern Nevada near Las Vegas for the past 24 hours, and bands of energy spinning around the center of the system have been sweeping through Northern Nevada and the Sierra. More of the same is possible today, although the showers will be less frequent and their path should be moving south and eventually out of the Tahoe region. Snow levels will rise again today, probably to 6,500 feet or higher.

By Friday a ridge of high pressure will be building over the west and will usher in a gorgeous spring weekend, with temperatures rebounding by Sunday to between 5 degrees and 10 degrees above normal for this time of year.

But our quick-to-change spring weather will swing back again early next week. A weather system very similar to the one we've just seen is taking shape in the Gulf of Alaska and should be moving into Northern California by Monday night. The early signs suggest that next week could be almost a carbon copy of this one, with rain and snow by Tuesday that lingers in the Basin into Wednesday and possibly Thursday.

Stay tuned to www.tahoeloco.com for updates as conditions change.