0630 temp. at 6350’ in Carnelian Bay: 22.8 deg. & 88% RH

0520 temp. at 8400’ Incline Peak TH: 16 deg.

2-4” new snow

Backcountry Obs.:

Expectations for cold, soft snow were next to nothing when I set out this morning. Lo and behold, as soon as the skintrack began climbing Incline Peak, I was delighted to find 2-4″ of new, cold snow atop the windblown, battered surface from the last storm system. Yesterday’s (3/7) round of afternoon snow showers appears to have left some accumulation that touched up the surface with cold, soft fluff, vastly improving ski conditions from Weds. Tracks and ruts from user traffic over the past week still persist, but the additional few inches of snow has softened the wind buffeted surface left behind from last weekend’s big storm. There’s nothing like a little surprise mountain magic to kick off a Friday!

Winds this morning were moderate out of the NE transporting snow along ridgelines and in open areas, but were not strong enough to significantly degrade the surface. Snow transport and deposition was enough to produce small, sensitive wind slabs on lee aspects. A ski cut on a cross loaded gully produced a propagating wind slab – only 2-3″ deep – that released and ran the length of the gully on a bed surface of windboard/suncrust.

Forecast and weather thoughts:

It feels like today is the first truly bluebird day we’ve had in a while. Temps around the lake are in the low 40s with 30s in the backcountry under sunny skies. Expect a cold clear night tonight.

Tomorrow sunshine and similar temps will return, along with an increase in SW winds and the arrival of some clouds presaging the next series of disturbances set to arrive Sun. through Weds.

Sun. night light snows return to the Tahoe Sierra with a few inches (2-4″) possible in mountain communities with maybe 6-8″ accumulating by Mon. morning in the backcountry. Points N and along the crest will likely receive the highest amounts. Snows taper off on Mon. with highs again reaching the upper 30s.

But wait, there’s more! High on the heels of the Sun. PM-Mon. AM system, another disturbance arrives Mon. night into Tues. with chances for more accumulating snows. This system will be similar to the one before it dropping modest amounts, but enough to contribute to a decent refresh from the weekend traffic and prolific wind effect left from last week’s storm. In total, backcountry zones could see an additional 6-12″ from both storms by Weds.

Looking beyond, models show signs of a strong ridge of high pressure building into the west coast around midweek and holding court through at least next weekend, possibly longer. This would bring a series of days with clear skies, warm daytime temps and hopefully cold nights: an ideal setup for the first solid corn cycle of the winter.