NOAA: Storm Cycle for California This Weekend | 5-10″ of Snow Forecast

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Forecast moisture plume hitting California on Sunday. image: noaa, today
Forecast moisture plume hitting California on Sunday. image: noaa, today

Another good looking storm cycle is forecast to begin in California this week.  7 ski resorts in Lake Tahoe have received over 100″ of snowfall this season already and KT-22 at Squaw is already open.

Our snowpack is still a bit behind average at 83% of normal to date in Tahoe (see image below).  The coming storm should help that and NOAA is talking about yet another, stronger storm to hit California early next week.

A wet pattern looks to be setting up this weekend through much of next week. This image (above) shows the moist plume moving into the region. Most widespread rain/snow expected Sun-Tue with more sporadic precipitation later next week, especially in the Valley.” – NOAA Sacramento, CA today

Liquid precip. map for California showing about 1" of liquid for Tahoe which would translate to about 1' of snow.  image:  noaa, today
Liquid precip. map for California showing about 1″ of liquid for Tahoe which would translate to about 1′ of snow. image: noaa, today

At this point, NOAA is hoping for 5-10″ of snow on the west side of Lake Tahoe and a few inches at lake level.  This could be a great refresh for Lake Tahoe ski resorts.  NOAA’s confidence is medium at this point in these numbers but they’re saying that totals could be even higher.  Fingers crossed.

The heaviest precipitation is forecast to come through on Saturday morning.

IF TONIGHTS MODEL RUNS WERE TO VERIFY, WE WOULD BE LOOKING
AT 5-10 INCHES RIGHT AT THE CREST/WEST OF HIGHWAY 89 AND A FEW
INCHES AT LAKE LEVEL. HOWEVER, THERE IS STILL SOME SPREAD IN THE
ENSEMBLES, SO CONFIDENCE IS ONLY MEDIUM AND AMOUNTS COULD BE
SLIGHTLY HIGHER. - NOAA Reno, NV today

CONFIDENCE IS INCREASING IN TRAVEL IMPACTS THROUGH THE NORTHERN 
SIERRA, ESPECIALLY SATURDAY MORNING WHEN THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION 
IS EXPECTED. - NOAA Reno, NV today
6-10 day precip outlook showing above average precip for California. image: noaa, yesteray
6-10 day precip outlook showing above average precip for California. image: noaa, yesteray

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NOAA is talking about another, stronger storm early next week.

A STRONGER SYSTEM IS POSSIBLE EARLY NEXT WEEK. - NOAA Reno, NV today

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Sierra snowpack averages of normal as of yesterday. image: kcra, yesterday
Sierra snowpack averages of normal as of yesterday. image: kcra, yesterday
"This picture shows the snow cover from midday yesterday." - NOAA, today
“This picture shows the snow cover from midday yesterday.” – NOAA, today

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