High Wind — Greater Lake Tahoe Area, California

2025-05-11 to 2025-05-12 · Greater Lake Tahoe Area, California

Event narrative

Heavenly mid-station gondola weather station, KTVL (South Lake Tahoe Airport), KTRK (Truckee-Tahoe Airport), and LIB25 Muller 1296-Emigrant Trail, reported peak wind gusts of 71 kts, 64 kts, 53 kts, and 64 kts, respectively.

Wider weather episode

A potent late season system moved through the region from the 11th to 12th. This produced widespread strong, damaging winds throughout western Nevada and the eastern Sierra. This included extensive damage to trees, powerlines, several semi-trailers blowing over, and disruptions to air travel due to wind shear and mountain waves. This storm additionally produced a period of accumulating snowfall along Interstate 80 over Donner Pass, leading to a temporary closure during the afternoon of the 12th.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1253036. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.