NOAA: 2-4 Feet of Snow Above 5,000-Feet in California by Monday

NOAA has issued Winter Storm Watches and Winter Storm Advisories for California today.

NOAA is expecting 2-4 feet of snow in Lake Tahoe by Monday.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...2 TO 4 INCHES TODAY, THEN SNOW INCREASES
  AGAIN BY LATER SATURDAY WITH 2 TO 4 FEET OF ACCUMULATION
  POSSIBLE ABOVE ABOUT 5000 FEET BY MONDAY.
  - NOAA Reno, NV today

NOAA is expecting 8-15″ of snow in the Mammoth region by Monday.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...8 TO 15 INCHES ABOVE 7000 FEET...WITH 4 TO
  8 INCHES NEAR THE 6000 FOOT LEVEL.
  - NOAA Hanford, CA today

Snow levels will will start high (about 7,000′ as of 9am today in Tahoe) before dropping as low as 4,000-feet over the weekend.

* SNOW LEVELS...5500 TO 6500 FEET TODAY LOWERING TO 4000 TO 5000
  FEET OVER THE WEEKEND. - NOAA Reno, NV today

The California snowpack is only at 83% statewide right now.  The UC Berkeley Snow Lab on Donner Summit is reporting only 67% of average snowfall right now.

WINTER STORM WARNING for LAKE TAHOE:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA
348 AM PST FRI MAR 11 2016

...STRONG WINTER STORMS THIS WEEKEND...

.A SERIES OF STRONG WINTER STORMS WILL MOVE THROUGH NORTHERN
CALIFORNIA THROUGH MONDAY. SNOW LEVELS WILL INITIALLY START
AROUND 6000 FEET TODAY AND THEN LOWER TO BETWEEN 3500 AND 4500
FEET OVER THE WEEKEND. PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW AND GUSTY WINDS WITH
CHAIN CONTROLS AND HAZARDOUS TRAVEL ARE LIKELY.

WEST SLOPE NORTHERN SIERRA NEVADA-
INCLUDING THE CITY OF...BLUE CANYON

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON PST TODAY TO 11 AM
PDT MONDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SACRAMENTO HAS ISSUED A WINTER
STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON PST
TODAY TO 11 AM PDT MONDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN
EFFECT.

* TIMING...THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY MORNING.

* LOCATIONS...INTERSTATE 80...HIGHWAY 50...HIGHWAY 88.

* MAIN IMPACT...PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW AND GUSTY WINDS WILL LIKELY
  CAUSE HAZARDOUS TRAVEL AND CHAIN CONTROLS. ROAD CLOSURES
  POSSIBLE AT TIMES ON THE WEEKEND.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...2 TO 4 INCHES TODAY, THEN SNOW INCREASES
  AGAIN BY LATER SATURDAY WITH 2 TO 4 FEET OF ACCUMULATION
  POSSIBLE ABOVE ABOUT 5000 FEET BY MONDAY.

* SNOW LEVELS...5500 TO 6500 FEET TODAY LOWERING TO 4000 TO 5000
  FEET OVER THE WEEKEND.

WINTER STORM WATCH for LAKE TAHOE:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
233 AM PST FRI MAR 11 2016

GREATER LAKE TAHOE AREA-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...SOUTH LAKE TAHOE...TRUCKEE...
INCLINE VILLAGE

...WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON
THROUGH MONDAY MORNING...

* TIMING: SNOW WILL BEGIN LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE
  INTO MONDAY MORNING. AT THIS TIME THE HEAVIEST SNOW IS
  EXPECTED SUNDAY NIGHT.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: OVER 2 FEET POSSIBLE ABOVE 7000 FEET WITH
  HIGHER AMOUNTS NEAR THE SIERRA CREST. AROUND A FOOT POSSIBLE
  AT LAKE LEVEL...HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON SNOW LEVEL.

* WINDS: SOUTHWEST 15 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH. RIDGE
  GUSTSOVER 100 MPH AT TIMES.

* SNOW LEVELS: 6000 TO 7000 FEET THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON THEN
  FALLING BELOW 6000 FEET SUNDAY NIGHT.

* IMPACTS: HEAVY SNOW WILL IMPACT TRAVEL THIS WEEKEND
  ESPECIALLY OVER HIGHER PASSES WHERE WHITEOUT CONDITIONS ARE
  POSSIBLE.