In a season where snow totals are below the norm, every little bit helps.
And that’s what is taking place lately at Tahoe ski resorts where the snow has been dropping, but only in minimal amounts.
Snow totals registered Thursday morning (March 6) were modest by the area’s usual amounts. Nine Tahoe ski resorts had 6 or more inches of snow from Wednesday’s storm. Sugar Bowl reported the highest total, getting 10 inches, increasing its 2024-25 season total to 286 inches, the most among area ski resorts.
Both Palisades Tahoe and Kirkwood got 8 inches, followed by Sierra-at-Tahoe and Boreal Mountain with 7 inches.
SEE TAHOE SNOW REPORT BELOW
WEATHER FORECAST: Another weak storm continues Thursday, followed by sunny and warming temperatures Friday and into the weekend.
“A bigger storm is still on track for (next) Wednesday and Thursday, with significant snowfall possible. Additional small storms are possible through March 17,” said OpenSnow weather forecaster Bryan Allegretto.
FEBRUARY SNOWPACK: The Department of Water Resources (DWR) conducted its third snow survey of the season at Phillips Station west of South Lake Tahoe on Feb. 28. The manual survey recorded 34 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 13.5 inches, which is 58 percent of average for this location.
The snow water equivalent measures the amount of water contained in the snowpack and is a key component of DWR’s water supply forecast. Statewide, the snowpack is 85 percent of average for this date.
This winter has been marked by a series of extremes, as unseasonably dry and warm conditions have been interrupted by powerful storms that temporarily boosted the snowpack to near normal.
That was certainly the case in February, where multiple rounds of atmospheric rivers earlier in the month brought the statewide snowpack to near average only to have dry conditions return.
Following the storms in mid-February, the statewide snowpack was 97 percent of average, but dropped to 85 percent by the end of February. For every day that it’s not snowing, the averages will continue to drop.
“In addition to the large swings in snowpack conditions we’ve seen this year, a big regional disparity remains between the Northern, Central, and Southern Sierra Nevada,” said Andy Reising, manager of DWR’s Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Unit. “With so many of this season’s storms missing the southern half of the state, our statewide snowpack average can mask just how below average some regions are.”
TAHOE SNOW REPORT (March 6)
- Sugar Bowl: 10 inches
- Kirkwood: 8 inches
- Palisades Tahoe: 8 inches
- Sierra-at-Tahoe: 7 inches
- Boreal: 7 inches
- Mt. Rose: 6 inches
- Diamond Peak: 6 inches
- Soda Springs: 6 inches
- Heavenly: 6 inches
- Tahoe Donner: 2 inches
- Northstar: 2 inches
- Homewood: Closed for season
