Weather
This forecast was created at 8:00 a.m. PST on Friday, April 25, 2025.
A compact late-April storm will bring a quick burst of winter back to the Sierra Friday night through Saturday, delivering roughly 6″-15″ of fresh snow to the higher ski areas before drier and warmer spring conditions reclaim the range early next week. Behind the weekend storm, temperatures moderate, snow quality stays decent on shaded slopes, and the medium-range pattern trends quieter with only a low-confidence shower chance toward mid-next week.
Early Thursday into Friday sets the stage with springlike conditions giving way to falling snow levels and strengthening westerly winds. Daytime highs linger in the 40s at base elevations on Thursday, ridgelines experience gusts over 40 mph, and isolated showers remain rain above roughly 7,000 feet. By Friday afternoon, the cooling deepens, winds stay gusty, and scattered convective showers expand; snow levels steadily drop toward 6,000 feet by evening, allowing the first flakes to stick on the upper mountain at most Tahoe resorts.
The main event arrives Friday night through Saturday morning as a compact trough taps Pacific moisture and colder air. Snowfall intensity peaks around midnight Friday through sunrise Saturday, with rates over an inch per hour on the higher summits. Snow-to-liquid ratios during this core window hover in the 11-13:1 range for most Tahoe resorts—dense enough to bury crusts yet light enough for soft turns—while Mammoth enjoys slightly drier 14-15:1 fluff overnight Saturday. By midday Saturday, storm totals stand near 9″-15″ for Kirkwood and Mt Rose, 7″-12″ for Palisades Tahoe and Heavenly, and 4″-8″ for Mammoth and Northstar. Winds gradually ease through the afternoon but remain brisk enough on exposed ridges to drift the new snow.
Residual instability keeps scattered snow showers flickering through Sunday morning before dry air and weak ridging shut things down. Additional accumulation on Sunday is minimal—generally an inch or less—but cold overnight lows in the 20s preserve the fresh snow, especially on north aspects. By late Sunday, skies trend partly sunny, surface conditions settle, and winds fall under 20 mph, offering a pleasant final day to ride the weekend refresh.
Monday through Wednesday bring a classic spring rebound, followed by a low-confidence midweek soft trough. A warming trend nudges highs back into the upper 40s to low 50s at 7,000 feet Monday and Tuesday, and freeze–thaw cycles should yield smooth corn on solar aspects while shaded trees retain weekend powder. Guidance for mid-week hints at a weak disturbance that could spark isolated high-elevation showers late Wednesday, but moisture looks meager. Looking further out, the 6-10 and 8-14-day outlooks favor above-normal temperatures and near-to-below-normal precipitation for the northern Sierra as a ridge amplifies over the northern Plains; odds currently lean against any significant follow-up snow through early May.
Resort Forecast Totals
- Kirkwood – 9″-15″ Fri night (04/25) – Sun night (04/27)
- Mt Rose – 8″-13″ Fri (04/25) – Sun night (04/27)
- Heavenly – 7″-12″ Fri night (04/25) – Sun night (04/27)
- Palisades Tahoe – 7″-12″ Fri night (04/25) – Sun night (04/27)
- Sugar Bowl – 6″-11″ Fri night (04/25) – Sun night (04/27)
- Northstar – 4″-8″ Fri night (04/25) – Sun night (04/27)
- Mammoth – 4″-7″ Fri night (04/25) – Sun night (04/27)
