LAKE TAHOE = 

• Lake Tahoe has breached its rim for the first time since June 14th, 2015! 

• Tahoe is only 1/2 inch above its rim, but we’ll take it.  

• The last time there was any appreciable water flowing from Tahoe into the Truckee river was in October 2014.

• 60 billion gallons of water have flowed into Lake Tahoe since December.

• Maximum capacity for Lake Tahoe is 6 feet above the rim.

• Another 242 billion gallons of water would have to flow into Lake Tahoe for it to reach capacity.

“Albeit only by about half an inch, Lake Tahoe is now over its rim and is spilling into the Truckee River thanks to yesterday’s precipitation and snow melt.

This is the first time water is reaching the Truckee River from Tahoe since June 14th of last year where the lake just did touch its rim. It was before October 10th of 2014 that any appreciable water spilled out of Tahoe (talk about a dismal stat)!” – NOAA, today

HOW MUCH MORE WILL LAKE TAHOE RISE THIS YEAR?

“The Natural Resources and Conservation Service does a forecast of the rise on Lake Tahoe based on snow melt and evaporation, but the forecast assumes the gates are closed. Their latest forecast (in mid-March) had a range of around 0.7 feet of rise all the way to almost 2 feet of rise with the most probable forecast in the 1.3 foot range. Again, that is the rise with the gates closed. The operation of the gates is based on agreements that govern the Newlands Project and that is handled by the U.S. Watermaster’s Office in Reno.” – NOAA, April 5th, 2016

Hopefully Tahoe keeps filling up, the Truckee river keeps rising and we can get some serious party rafting going on the Truckee this summer.