677″ = Currently 2nd Snowiest Winter Ever Recorded in Lake Tahoe, CA, And There’s More Coming…

SnowBrains | | Post Tag for Industry NewsIndustry News
As of today, March 20th, the Lake Tahoe area has 677″ of total snowfall this season, making it the second snowiest winter in Tahoe’s recorded history. | Photo: Scott Gaffney IG

According to the UC Berkeley Central Snow Laboratory at 6,900′ on Donner Pass, CA, which has been keeping precise snowfall records since 1946, the Lake Tahoe area has officially reached the title of second snowiest winter in recorded history as of today, March 20th.

The UCB Snow Lab has seen 677″ of snowfall this season so far. 

“With 7.7” (19.5 cm) of #snow over the last day, ’22/’23 has passed ’82/’83 as the 2nd snowiest season (Oct 1 – Sept 30) since the CSSL was built in 1946! We now have a season total of 677″ (56.4 feet, 17.2 m).

Still far from #1 but we’ll get closer with several storms expected to drop feet of snow over the next 7-10 days.”



UCB Central Sierra Snow Lab.

In a Facebook post, the UCB Snow Lab wrote that the Tahoe area expects another few feet of snow over the next seven to ten days. 

Will Tahoe break the record this year? The deepest winter the Central Sierra Snow Lab recorded was 812 inches in 1951/52. That’s precisely 135″ away, and Tahoe still has half of March and all of April to get there.

About the UC Berkeley Central Snow Laboratory:

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.



SNOWPACK:

  • 201% = Percent of Average SWE (Snow Water Equivalent) to Date
  • 185% = Percent of Average Peak SWE

PRECIPITATION:

  • 677″ = Season Total Snowfall to Date
  • 217% = Percent of Average Snowfall to Date
  • 174% = Percent of Average Precipitation (Snow & Rain) to Date

Current Snow Lab Stats as of March 20, 2023:

Photo: UCB Snow Lab, March 20, 2023.

Related Articles

Got an opinion? Let us know...