According to the UC Berkeley Central Snow Laboratory at 6,900′ on Donner Pass, CA, the Lake Tahoe area has officially, as of today, reached the title of 4th snowiest winter in recorded history.

The UCB Snow Lab has seen 624″ of snowfall this season as of today.

“We received 6.7″ (17 cm) of #snow in the last 24 hours and we’re now tied with the winter of ’81/’82 for fourth snowiest CSSL winter of all time (since 1946).” – UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Laboratory, 3/11/23

The UCB Snow Lab has been keeping precise records since 1946.

It looks like this season in Tahoe will easily end up the #2 biggest winter in recorded history, with only 47″ more inches of snow needed to hit #2.

Current Snow Lab Stats as of March 11, 2023:

SNOWPACK:

• 181% = Percent of Average SWE (Snow Water Equivalent) to Date
• 161% = Percent of Average Peak SWE

PRECIPITATION:

• 624″ = Season Total Snowfall to Date
• 218% = Percent of Average Snowfall to Date
• 163% = Percent of Average Precipitation (Snow & Rain ) to Date

About the lab:

Located at Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada, the Central Sierra Snow Laboratory is a research field station of UC Berkeley specializing in snow physics, snow hydrology, meteorology, climatology, and instrument design. Built in 1946 by the (then) U.S. Weather Bureau and Army Corps of Engineers, it is now managed by UC Berkeley.

CSSL has a consistent record of precipitation, snowfall, snow depth, and air temperature for the periods of 1946-1952 and 1957-present. The Lab also has long-term data sets on wind speed and direction, solar radiation, snow temperature, relative humidity, and soil moisture. A wide range of other data has been recorded and used at the lab. Check out the Snow Lab’s recent snowfall and that of the surrounding area on the ‘Regional Recent Snowfall’ tab.