Forecast Published 12:00 AM MST 1/12/2024

Forecast Summary

A storm will move through the region Friday night into Saturday night and bring 1-2 feet of snow above 4500′ in the Sierra. Snow will start Friday night and fill in Saturday from north to south. Moderate-to-heavy snow continues into Saturday night before winding down Sunday morning. Some residual light snow showers will be possible on Sunday.

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Short-term

Some scattered light snow showers will develop Friday night over the Sierra crest as the next system begins to push into the region. These will be widely scattered before they begin to fill in Saturday morning as a moist air mass is transported toward California. Snow will move from north to south during the day, encompassing most of Sierra by Saturday evening. Snowfall will be heavy at times with rates exceeding 1″ per hour at times. Snow will then decrease in coverage and intensity the second half of the night before it becomes showery by Sunday morning. Snow showers continue into the day on Sunday but will be light. In total, 1-2′ of snow is expected above 4500′.

Notable Resorts Expected Snowfall:

• Palisades Tahoe: 12-24″
• Kirkwood: 18-24″
• Homewood: 12-16″

Long-term

Dry weather is expected by Monday and will continue into Tuesday. The next possible system will brush by the region Tuesday night into Wednesday. Right now, snow looks to be relatively light. This is still quite a ways out, so things could change, but more snow looks possible on the horizon.

Extended

A somewhat active pattern looks to continue past the middle of next week. Most global ensembles are indicating more precipitation is on its way as a longwave trough sets up off the west coast. However, temperatures look a tad warm so snow levels may be high. We will have to see how this evolves over the coming days.