Not Too Shabby

I woke up this morning and the first thing I did was check the ski resort snowfall totals. Alpine Meadows: 17". Squaw Valley: 17". Sugar Bowl: 8-12". Sierra at Tahoe: Trace. Heavenly: 0". Wow! North Shore wins by a land slide! This was a cold and unstable weather system, with little moisture and a lack of good orographic forcing (strong W or SW jet stream over the Sierra). Much of the snow was produce via convective instability, making it extremely difficult for a forecast model to identify the exact location of the heaviest bands.

I skied Alpine Meadows today and it felt great just to be out there skiing in the cold while it was snowing. It was also nice to not have to worry about snow levels for once this season. Conditions were great with plenty of light, fluffy pow to go around. Plenty of obstacles lurking just beneath the surface, so be careful out there.

The area of low pressure that brought us the snow will shift south tomorrow leaving us plenty cold, with maybe a few lingering snow showers.

weather.rap.ucar.edu

We remain under the influence of a trough through early next week, with the possibility of some light snow. At this point, accumulation looks pretty meager.