Western Weather 2017-18 and Later

I’ve been posting OpenSnow Tahoe predictions in my latest KIrkwood post. This was Wed post for Thurs-Sat.
IMG_8443.png

The max snow has gone from 86” at KIrkwood for Thurs-Mon to 98” at 9K to the 120” I posted here. Anyone planning to go this weekend needs a lot of patience and a contingency plan.

My local paper today said statewide Sierra snowpack has gone from 28% of average on Jan. 1 to 82% on Feb 27. They also say San Jose has 130% of historical rainfall and LA is at 170%.
 
tseeb said:
I’ve been posting OpenSnow Tahoe predictions in my latest KIrkwood post. This was Wed post for Thurs-Sat.
View attachment 39805
The max snow has gone from 86” at KIrkwood for Thurs-Mon to 98” at 9K to the 120” I posted here. Anyone planning to go this weekend needs a lot of patience and a contingency plan.

My local paper today said statewide Sierra snowpack has gone from 28% of average on Jan. 1 to 82% on Feb 27. They also say San Jose has 130% of historical rainfall and LA is at 170%.
Click to expand...

It's getting silly! I am making plans....
 
kingslug said:
Bring...snorkel....
Click to expand...
Maybe, but not necessarily likely. Most storms of this size (esp on west coast) end up with tons of wind affect or even warm periods with very dense wet snow mixed in, etc... Far too often the biggest storms you'd prefer water-ski sized boards to stay on the surface and still might have to battle wind crusts or etc...

That said, once in a while everything turns out great and the snorkel is less a suggestion and more like a requirement to be able to breath.
 
EMSC said:
Maybe, but not necessarily likely. Most storms of this size (esp on west coast) end up with tons of wind affect or even warm periods with very dense wet snow mixed in, etc... Far too often the biggest storms you'd prefer water-ski sized boards to stay on the surface and still might have to battle wind crusts or etc...

That said, once in a while everything turns out great and the snorkel is less a suggestion and more like a requirement to be able to breath.
Click to expand...
actually this is a pretty cold storm with higher then sierra cement ratios
 
tseeb said:
LA is at 170%.
Click to expand...
Yes, but the ski area snowfall is barely above average thanks to those 9 days of rain. The good part is that nearly all of that snow came in the first week of February so the snowpack above 7,500 feet is still 6 feet.

In northern California there was a persistent odd weather pattern early on when storms would reach the coastal areas, run into inland high pressure and break up, bringing only modest snow to the Sierra. Thus was particularly bad for areas leeward of the Crest like Heavenly. Thankfully that pattern ended at the beginning of February and the storm window has been open almost continuously since then.
 
At the end of February the western season overall is now 89%, and it's obvious that number is headed higher with the forecasts over the next week.
 
jasoncapecod said:
actually this is a pretty cold storm with higher than sierra cement ratios
Click to expand...
That was the forecast, but both the Tahoe and Mammoth OpenSnow guys say it is not turning out that way. Why? If the wind is blowing 100+mph the whole time the snowflakes break up and what lands is denser. Mammoth got 22 inches of snow with 2.6 inches water content so far. Bryan has downgraded the total storm forecast for Tahoe to 4.5 to 7.5 feet for the same reason. Peak wind gust at Palisades was 190mph. :icon-e-surprised: The high water content at least ensures normal spring skiing through the end of May.

Baldy and Mt. High report all rain overnight; that makes 10 days this season. :icon-twisted: It's still supposed to turn to snow sometime today.
 
Last edited:
Tony Crocker said:
That was the forecast, but both the Tahoe and Mammoth OpenSnow guys say it is not turning out that way. Why? If the wind is blowing 100+mph the whole time the snowflakes break up and what lands is denser. Mammoth got 22 inches of snow with 2.6 inches water content so far. Bryan has downgraded the total storm forecast for Tahoe to 4.5 to 7.5 feet for the same reason. Peak wind gust at Palisades was 190mph. :icon-e-surprised:
Click to expand...
I was thinking about flake degradation
 
EMSC said:
Maybe, but not necessarily likely. Most storms of this size (esp on west coast) end up with tons of wind affect or even warm periods with very dense wet snow mixed in, etc... Far too often the biggest storms you'd prefer water-ski sized boards to stay on the surface and still might have to battle wind crusts or etc...

That said, once in a while everything turns out great and the snorkel is less a suggestion and more like a requirement to be able to breath.
Click to expand...
Looks like you wouldn’t need a snorkel. Good for base building.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1763962808293847215
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top