After a night of some very heavy rain the precipitation has just now changed over to snow on the valley floor here in Squaw Valley. Follow all the latest weather on our UnofficialSquaw Weather Page. Weather updates from TahoeWeatherdiscussion.com, Tahoeloco.com and NOAA.gov.
Here is the latest weather outlook from tahoeweatherdiscussion.com
Pre-frontal precip brought a few inches of snow this morning above 7000 ft. This is not the main cold front that will bring heavy snow later this afternoon. Snow levels came as low as 6500 ft. this morning with the heavier precip which is a good sign for this evening. The cold front has just moved through Redding and will be here later this afternoon. It will drop the snow levels below lake level and bring a period of heavy snow. Snowfall forecasts still look to be on track.
From 6 a.m.:
The precip moved into the region early this morning ahead of the cold front still up in Northwest CA. The models have finally come into alignment with regards to precip. We are now looking at .75-1.25 inches of liquid over Tahoe. Snow ratios are are currently around 12:1 above 7000 ft. and will increase as the day goes on to around 15:1 and maybe slightly higher if any snow showers linger into tonight behind the cold front. That should bring us anywhere from 9 inches East of the lake up to 18 inches West of the lake above 7000 ft. Snow levels are currently at 7000 ft. and will slowly fall to below lake level by this evening. I’m thinking that the cold front will come through fast and strong this afternoon and turn the rain to snow at lake level. How fast the snow level falls will determine the amount of snow at lake level. Right now I’m thinking anywhere from 4 inches East of the lake to 8 inches West of the lake. I will update today if the snow levels come down faster. tahoeweatherdiscussion.com
And here is what Tahoeloco.com/weather-geek had to say
A low pressure system out of the Gulf of Alaska is sweeping across Northern California this morning and could bring a foot of new snow to the Tahoe Basin’s peaks before it moves on to the east Wednesday morning.
This system is expected to drop about an inch of precipitation on the Sierra crest, where snow levels are hovering around 7,000 feet this morning but are expected to drop as the storm moves through. That one inch of water should convert to 6 to 12 inches of snow below 7,000 feet and 12 to 18 inches in favored areas above 8000 feet.
Skies will be clearing by Wednesday, and Thursday should be mostly fair. But a major series of storms lining up in the Pacific are due to move into the region by Friday.
This will be a major weather event, with the moisture-laden Central Pacific jet stream merging with the cold air from the polar jet to bring significant rain and snow to the region for several days. The higher peaks should be measuring snowfall in feet, not inches, between Friday and Tuesday. There is still some question about snow levels, but the latest models continue to show snow falling for most of this time below 7000 feet. Tahoeloco.com/weather-geek
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM THIS MORNING TO 1 AM PST WEDNESDAY... A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM THIS MORNING TO 1 AM PST WEDNESDAY. * TIMING: LIGHT SNOW WILL BEGIN THIS MORNING ABOVE 6500 FEET AND INTENSIFY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. * SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: 6 TO 12 INCHES ABOVE 7000 FEET WITH UP TO 16 INCHES ALONG THE SIERRA CREST. UP TO 6 INCHES BELOW 7000 FEET WITH THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS ALONG THE WEST SHORE OF LAKE TAHOE. * WINDS: GUSTS OF 100 MPH OR MORE ARE POSSIBLE AT THE RIDGE TOPS TODAY AND TONIGHT...WITH GUSTS UP TO 55 MPH IN THE TAHOE BASIN. * SNOW LEVELS: 6500 TO 7000 FEET TODAY LOWERING TO LAKE LEVEL THIS EVENING.