Potential Growing For 'Heavy Snow' Storm To Hit The Sierra

A storm is brewing off the coast of California.

Long-range weather models used by the National Weather Service (NWS) indicate that the dice are loading in a snowy direction for the Sierra Nevada Range next week.

Here's an update from the NWS shared yesterday, November 7th.

The NWS' Northern California weather prediction for next week mirrors that of Direct Weather, whose promising forecast POWDER covered yesterday.

Direct Weather went into more detail than the NWS did, suggesting that the Sierra Nevada -- a mountain range that includes major Lake Tahoe area ski resorts -- could see between two to four feet of snow by November 16th.

Don't let your expectations run too wild, though. NWS wisely used non-committal language in describing the potential storm, writing, "Confidence is increasing for a storm system to bring increasing chances for precipitation to interior NorCal."

Direct Weather deployed a similar caveat in the video forecast POWDER shared, reminding his audience that when you're talking about what the weather might do ten or so days in the future, the meteorological grain of salt always applies.

Still, with two reliable forecasters now calling for heavy snow in California next week -- the NWS and Direct Weather -- the odds appear to be in powder-hungry skiers' favor.

Stacking the deck further is this post from the NWS shared earlier this morning.

Several Lake Tahoe area ski resorts stand to benefit from the predicted storm.

Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe opens at the end of this week on November 10th, meaning the resort will already have its lifts running when the snow arrives.

Palisades Tahoe -- arguably the most well-known resort in the region -- plans to open a few short days after the storms' crescendo on November 22nd. Sugar Bowl, another heavy hitter, will quickly follow suit on November 24th. The possibility of opening day powder turns now looms for Lake Tahoe skiers.

The storm's timing next week is eerily similar to Lake Tahoe's opener last winter. In 2022, the region was dry and warm all fall before a massive storm hit -- from there, it was off to the races, with several resorts smashing their yearly snowfall records.

I don't want to jinx anything here, but the meteorological similarity between this season and the last begs the question: Could Lake Tahoe be in for a repeat performance? Realistically, it's hard to say -- the weather is a fickle beast. But if you live on Lake Tahoe, I'd make sure your shovel doesn't need to be replaced, just in case.

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