Photo: European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts
Thought California’s snow season was entirely done? Think again. While nearly every resort throughout the Sierra Nevada shut down for the season between mid-March and Easter weekend, a handful of holdouts remain. In fact, exactly one handful — June Mountain, Mammoth Mountain, Kirkwood, and Palisades Tahoe — represent the final hurrah of lift-accessed terrain in California as an April storm sets its sights on the Sierra Nevada this weekend.
Forecasts earlier in the week were already promising but they’ve gotten even stronger for powder-starved skiers and riders as the weekend approaches. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch beginning Friday evening through Saturday evening above 4,500 feet for the western slope of the northern Sierra. They forecast as much as two feet of snow near Donner Summit while higher peaks (and ski resorts) could pick up more than three feet of snow – and even four feet in some locations.
Meteorologist Bill Martin of the West Coast Weather Channel called it “the perfect California springtime storm.”
“Snow levels generally start around 7,000 to 8,000 feet on Friday, so Palisades Tahoe’s lower mountain looks wet at first while Kirkwood and Mammoth hold snow better from the outset,” Snowbrains wrote in its forecast. “By Friday night and Saturday, snow levels crash to roughly 3,000 to 5,000 feet and the whole open Sierra turns solidly wintry. Early snow will be dense with snow liquid ratios (SLR) mostly five to 10, then it improves to more moderate and locally lighter snow with SLRs closer to 10 to 16 as the colder air deepens. Exposed ridges look roughest on Friday, with gusts commonly 40 to 60 mph and locally higher around Mt. Rose.”
One interesting note from this storm is its potential impact on Palisades Tahoe. According to Martin, resort officials now think the mountain is going to stay open “through April,” which is definitely an upgrade from the previous goal of limping into a late-April closing date. The resort still hasn’t announced its official close for the season, so this weekend could turn into a spring skiing gift.
