Amped Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Some of these ski areas average several hundred inches of snow a year, but this has got to be some sort of a record. Sugar Bowl, Kirkwood and Squaw Valley all claim to have 100"+ totals in the past week and it is still snowing heavily at most of the ski areas. Too bad there all closed due to avalanche danger. The most snow has been above 7500 Ft, but there is still a good deal of snow at lake level. http://www.skiheavenly.com/the-mountain/snow-report/snow-report.aspx http://www.skialpine.com/mountain/snow-report http://www.kirkwood.com/site/mountain/snow-report/2011-3-24-1 http://www.northstarattahoe.com/snowreport.asp http://www.sierraattahoe.com/mountain/conditions http://www.squaw.com/snow-report Here is a page that lets you preview all the webcams. http://www.tahoetopia.com/webcams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan76 Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 I'm ready Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice1972 Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Just sick......I've been to all of those places......I don't think this is all that uncommon though.....maybe in March but the Sierra can rally wring it out......they should be riding well into summer.....I once rode at Mammoth on July 3......crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icebreaker5221 Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Incredible stuff out there! http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/sierra-snow-feet-upon-feet-slideshow_2011-03-23 Images courtesy weather.com: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jebman Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Incredible stuff out there! http://www.weather.c...show_2011-03-23 Images courtesy weather.com: Excellent place for an EPIC jebwalk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I need to show those folks how to shovel snow! They sure know how to pile it up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJW155 Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 I drove though the Sierras in May a few years ago. I think it was 2005. There was easliy 20-30 feet of snow on the ground and the passes were closed except for Rt 80 and 1 other pass. This was the middle of May too. Maybe the 20th or so. People were excited because the passes were expected to open by June 1st. After you drive through there it makes EC storms look like flurries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jebman Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 I drove though the Sierras in May a few years ago. I think it was 2005. There was easliy 20-30 feet of snow on the ground and the passes were closed except for Rt 80 and 1 other pass. This was the middle of May too. Maybe the 20th or so. People were excited because the passes were expected to open by June 1st. After you drive through there it makes EC storms look like flurries. That is exactly where I need to live. I'd shovel snow there for free. I would be so beside myself with joy I would hardly know where to start. I'd have 78 million snow pics on my iPhone. I would upload so many snow pics to American Weather Forum that the server would crash beyond repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJW155 Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 That is exactly where I need to live. I'd shovel snow there for free. I would be so beside myself with joy I would hardly know where to start. I'd have 78 million snow pics on my iPhone. I would upload so many snow pics to American Weather Forum that the server would crash beyond repair. You can't shovel snow because of avalanches. That's why everyone is California is so fit; they never stop moving. If you stop to shovel the snow, you will die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jebman Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Incredible stuff out there! http://www.weather.c...show_2011-03-23 Images courtesy weather.com: I'm frackin' Jealous as hell !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzucker Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 I'm frackin' Jealous as hell !!! You may get snow this weekend, Jebman. Just not quite as much as Lake Tahoe, sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icebreaker5221 Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 SNOTEL Central Sierra Snow Lab reporting a snow depth of x 367 http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/nsa/reports.html?region=Sierra_Nevada&var=snowdepth&dy=2011&dm=3&dd=25&units=e&sort=value&filter=0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 100" in a week isnt that uncommon out there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jebman Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 You may get snow this weekend, Jebman. Just not quite as much as Lake Tahoe, sorry. Just Unbelievable - Snow in Northern VA in LATE MARCH I really wish this had come along in mid Feb beggars can't be choosers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aslkahuna Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 100" in a week isnt that uncommon out there No it's not-record for the California mountains (though the southern Cascades rather than the Sierra) is 189 inches in 5 days at Shasta. Seasonal record in the Sierra is 887 inches at Tamarack and the 24 hour record is 67 inches at Echo and Donner Summits. Moisture content of the snowpack is high about 150% of normal. Another aside, March is usually one of the snowiest months in the Sierra and the snowpack usually peaks in April. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amped Posted March 26, 2011 Author Share Posted March 26, 2011 Excellent place for an EPIC jebwalk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I need to show those folks how to shovel snow! They sure know how to pile it up You might wanna drive or snowmobile this one. The lack of a sidewalk and the lack of visibility around turns in that picture maybe a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnweather Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 OMG! Incredible. Would love to have that kind of snow for just one season. I would give many, many snowless winters for one winter with that much snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amped Posted March 26, 2011 Author Share Posted March 26, 2011 100" in a week isnt that uncommon out there 155" - 178" probably is. http://www.kirkwood....eport/2011-3-25 It may not be a record though like I said in my initial post. But then again, they still have a couple more storms to go (March record possible). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aslkahuna Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 155" - 178" probably is. http://www.kirkwood....eport/2011-3-25 It may not be a record though like I said in my initial post. But then again, they still have a couple more storms to go (March record possible). Was that for a single storm like Shasta? or more than one storm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BethesdaWX Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 What happened to the horrible SW drought? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aslkahuna Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 What happened to the horrible SW drought? Lake Tahoe is not considered part of the SW US. As point in fact, Drought conditions are up to extreme in TX across through Southern Arizona so the Drought is alive and well and still kicking after 15 years in progress. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzucker Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Lake Tahoe is not considered part of the SW US. As point in fact, Drought conditions are up to extreme in TX across through Southern Arizona so the Drought is alive and well and still kicking after 15 years in progress. Steve That looks like a pretty serious drought over the Southern US. Let's hope we don't get another La Niña next season or you guys might start having some problems... What is the main cause of the drought in AZ/NM? Is it the lack of bowling ball lows during winter, summertime thunderstorms missing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SP Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 My wife was out there last weekend....we got her out during a break on Monday. She said it was incredible.....almost 7ft during the time she was there...3-4 days. Last sunday avalanches were a problem in the Squaw HV area..took out 89 and part of 80 apparently. I have not had time to go through her picture but will check to see if there are any cool ones. Her HD video from the helmet cam looked wild at times. Our friends still there are basically stuck, though Squaw apparently has been able to keep the lower trails open to some extent. The skiers on the lifts are almost touching the snow it is piled up so high. March in Tahoe is crazy. Last time I was there Tahoe City had a base of 10-12ft and it just got higher as you went up into the elevations. We heard one report that 13 inches of snow fell in one hour this week?????? Not sure if anyone else heard similar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amped Posted March 26, 2011 Author Share Posted March 26, 2011 Was that for a single storm like Shasta? or more than one storm. A little of both. It was several disturbances loosly chained together with 12-24hr lulls. I don't know if the snow shut off entirely during the lulls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BethesdaWX Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 That looks like a pretty serious drought over the Southern US. Let's hope we don't get another La Niña next season or you guys might start having some problems... What is the main cause of the drought in AZ/NM? Is it the lack of bowling ball lows during winter, summertime thunderstorms missing? Maybe this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 No it's not-record for the California mountains (though the southern Cascades rather than the Sierra) is 189 inches in 5 days at Shasta. Seasonal record in the Sierra is 887 inches at Tamarack and the 24 hour record is 67 inches at Echo and Donner Summits. Moisture content of the snowpack is high about 150% of normal. Another aside, March is usually one of the snowiest months in the Sierra and the snowpack usually peaks in April. Steve there were some rumors the early-winter storm was a record setter -- i think i saw some mesonet report over 200" -- but i never saw confirmation? i used to spend good chunks of the winter at mammoth and recall seeing at least 2 week-long periods that were in the 75-100" range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhineasC Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Lake Tahoe is not considered part of the SW US. As point in fact, Drought conditions are up to extreme in TX across through Southern Arizona so the Drought is alive and well and still kicking after 15 years in progress. Steve Wow, drought in a desert. Whowouldathunkit? I guess not the city planners building massive sprawl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BethesdaWX Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Wow, drought in a desert. Whowouldathunkit? I guess not the city planners building massive sprawl. Didn't know deserts don't have a rainfall avg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aslkahuna Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Southern and Western Texas, SW NM west of Deming and SE AZ as far west as the Santa Ritas and Rincons (just east of Tucson) are NOT Deserts but rather are climatologically classified as Savannah Grasslands with a monsoon climate. For a desert, average annual rainfall must be less than 12 inches (30 cm). The Sonoran Desert is considered a "wet" desert as the annual rainfall out to about Gila Bend averages around 6-12 inches. The Mojave and far western deserts in AZ average less than 6 inches. The SE corner of AZ and SW corner of NM average 13-18 inches annually with about 7-11 inches of that falling during the monsoon in July and August (primarily). There is a secondary rainy season in the Winter which in the valleys averages around 4 inches but it's the mountain snow that counts as that's about 2-3 times more water. It's during the Winter where the shortfall in moisture is occurring as last monsoon was quite active in SE AZ/SW NM. Just as an aside, the annual average rainfall in Sierra Vista is just about the same as that in Denver CO which is not considered desert. It's actually not so much urban sprawl that's the problem here but poor landscaping practices. The immigrants from places like NY, etc. insist on bringing their lawns and trees (which use a lot of water) with them. I had a lawn in Sierra Vista but converted it to drought resistance grass and reduced my watering time by 2/3rds. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wederwarrior Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 unreal. Ahhhh....to be at Kirkwood again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aslkahuna Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 That looks like a pretty serious drought over the Southern US. Let's hope we don't get another La Niña next season or you guys might start having some problems... What is the main cause of the drought in AZ/NM? Is it the lack of bowling ball lows during winter, summertime thunderstorms missing? La Niña helps us during the monsoon while El Niño is the reverse but the bottom line is that we've been going up and down on this Drought since 1996 and even hit exceptional levels in 2001. From 2001 through 2004 we had both dry winters and drier than average monsoons. More recently, the 2008 monsoon was decent here in Tucson, the 2009 an absolute loser in AZ and last year was great east of here but from Tucson west was pitiful. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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