Winter Weather — Greater Lake Tahoe Area, Nevada

2024-12-26 to 2024-12-27 · Greater Lake Tahoe Area, Nevada

Event narrative

A trained spotter located 1.0 mile NNW of Incline Village, NV, and the public located at the Diamond Peak Ski Base, NV, both reported 24 hour storm total snowfall of 5.0 inches, and the public located at the Mount Rose Ski Base reported 24 hour storm total snowfall amounts of 6.0 inches.

Wider weather episode

A pair of quick-moving shortwave troughs will across the Pacific NW the 26th and 27th that brought two waves in short succession of gusty winds and precipitation. The first round pushed across the region overnight Christmas through the morning of the 26th. After a brief break on the afternoon of the 26th, the second storm system passed through the area later in the night on the 26th into the 27th. The first wave brought light Sierra snow and valley rain with winds bringing the main impacts as a belt of amplified southwesterly wind aloft overspread the region. Ridgetop gusts exceeded 90 mph with lower valleys reaching 35-45 mph by the afternoon that induced impacts to recreation and travel.

The bulk of the Sierra snow fell during the AM hour's on the 26th with snow showers wrapping up that afternoon. Meanwhile, antecedent cold air from this latest storm yield snow levels around 5000-5500 feet as showers arrive to the region. This increased the possibility of a mix of rain and snow for lower valley areas early on the 26th with snow levels rising to 6500-7000 feet that switched p-type to all rain. After a short window of dry weather Thursday afternoon, the second unstable wave brought impacts to the region overnight on the 26th into the 27th. Similar wind impacts occurred with this round of stormy weather favoring warmer and wetter conditions with higher snow levels (8000 feet) and heavier snowfall along the Sierra crest.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1230081. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.