A very cold winter storm will roll into Lake Tahoe tomorrow and tomorrow night. 20:1 snow/water ratios are expected with this storm which will inflate snow totals into the double digit range. NOAA has issued a Winter Storm Watch and is calling for a foot or more of snow down to lake level on the west shore. The high mountains will likely see 18-20″ out of this storm.

“That gives us 7-12 inches in the basin and 12-18 inches along the crest.” – Opensnow.com today at 9am

This storm is just what we need right now. A bit higher density snow would be more ideal for base building, but we aren’t complaining.

Temperatures associated with this storm will be very cold with a low of 17F in the valleys on Friday night when the bulk of the snow is forecasted to fall.

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV 237 AM PST THU DEC 5 2013 ...VERY COLD WINTER STORM FRIDAY NIGHT... .LOW PRESSURE WILL DROP SOUTH THE GULF OF ALASKA AND WILL REACH THE EASTERN SIERRA AND WESTERN NEVADA FRIDAY NIGHT. THIS LOW WILL BRING VERY COLD AIR...GUSTY WINDS...AND A PERIOD OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW. THE COMBINATION OF GUSTY WINDS...AND A POWDERY SNOW MAY LEAD TO CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WITH WHITEOUT CONDITIONS OVER MOUNTAIN PASSES. ...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING... * TIMING: SNOW WILL REACH THE TAHOE BASIN FRIDAY AFTERNOON WITH A PERIOD OF HEAVY SNOW LIKELY FRIDAY NIGHT AND EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. * SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: A FOOT OR MORE ABOVE 7000 FEET AND DOWN TO LAKE LEVEL ALONG THE WESTERN SHORE. AT TRUCKEE...SOUTH LAKE AND THE EASTERN SHORE...6 TO 10 INCHES OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE. * WINDS: GUSTS OF 30 MPH OR MORE IN THE LOWER ELEVATIONS AND GUSTS OF 60 TO 80 MPH OVER RIDGES MAY PRODUCE CONSIDERABLE BLOWING SNOW...LARGE DRIFTS AND WHITEOUT CONDITIONS. * IMPACTS: HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS DUE TO SNOW COVERED ROADS AND LOW VISIBILITY. TEMPERATURES BELOW 20 DEGREES AND GUSTY WINDS WILL LEAD TO BELOW ZERO WIND CHILL VALUES.