Storm pours 4.3 billion gallons into Lake Tahoe

Mark Robison | Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal

RENO, Nev. — Monday’s storm poured 4.3 billion gallons into Lake Tahoe.

That raised the lake level almost two inches, according to Tim Bardsley, National Weather Service hydrologist in Reno. Almost 80% of the rise was due to direct precipitation of rain and snow falling on the lake itself.

An earlier, back-of-the-envelope calculation reported at SFGate.com had put the amount at 6.4 billion gallons, but Bardsley said 4.3 billion was a better calculation based on a comparison between lake volume and surface elevation.

“We would need seven or eight more (storms) of that magnitude to get back to the rim,” he said, adding that fewer might be needed if there is a lot of snowmelt.

“And we need six more feet for a full lake — that would take an enormous amount of snow and rain.”

He said that the region has had few storms of this magnitude at the lake in the past four years but that they are far from unusual.

Meteorologist Wendell Hohmann said the next storm is coming in Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

“It won’t produce as much precipitation, but it’ll be colder so we’ll see snow in the mountains and down into the valleys,” Hohmann said.

Six to 14 inches are predicted along the Sierra Nevada crest west of Highway 89, and as much as 1 to 3 inches on the valley floor, with 2 to 5 inches in the foothills.

“We’re expecting travel impacts regionwide,” he said.

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