Sierra, 3 - 5 ft dump this wkend

our first major snowfall of '10/ '11 is on the way. (about a month early) !

Yahoo !  Start building the base for our annual spring touring trip. 

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW AND GUSTY WINDS REMAINS IN
EFFECT FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 4 PM PST SUNDAY.

* TIMING: SNOW WILL BEGIN THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE THROUGH
  SUNDAY. PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW WILL AFFECT THE TAHOE BASIN LATE TONIGHT
  THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING AND SATURDAY NIGHT.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: 3 TO 6 FEET OF SNOW WILL OCCUR ABOVE 7000
  FEET. 2 TO 3 FEET WILL OCCUR BELOW 7000 FEET WITH LOCALLY UP TO
  4 FEET POSSIBLE ALONG THE WEST SHORE.

* WINDS: SOUTHWEST WINDS 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH.
  GUSTS TO 45 MPH SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING. RIDGE GUSTS
  UP TO 100 MPH.

* CONSIDERABLE BLOWING SNOW AND LOCAL BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ARE
  POSSIBLE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING.

* IMPACTS: HEAVY SNOW AND POOR VISIBILITY WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT
  TRAVEL DELAYS OVER MOUNTAIN PASSES AND ROADS AROUND THE TAHOE
  BASIN. ANYONE TRAVELING IN THE SIERRA SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR
  DANGEROUS WINTER DRIVING CONDITIONS AND POSSIBLE ROAD CLOSURES.

NOAA keeps upping the numbers...

Zap, I'll definitely try to meet ya this season, I enjoy your rpts. I'm workin on gettin photos in.

I counted 77 inches for point forecast, Donner Summit. And 58 inches for 10,000 ft (east of Yos. Valley)

I didnt see the 6 ft forecast/ I just luv it when the amounts sound like wave heights !

And of course... big snow = big Avalanche concerns. Lower angles; then work your way back to the steeper ones. It'll still be there, when you get there !

Zap, I'll definitely try to meet ya this season,  I enjoy your rpts. I'm workin on gettin photos in.

After I finish teaching my classes here, Jill and I will be heading for Tahoe for awhile on our way to UT and CO. Jill and I have passes at Kirkwood and Heavenly so we'll be hanging aorund Tahoe awhile before heading to the Eastern Sierra. 

I'll contact you when we are heading south.

Looks like the predictions of 3-6 feet of new snow did come true! Here are some storm totals (3 days) as reported by the major Sierra ski areas this morning:

[tt]
Sugar Bowl:      62-78"  Closed, opens Nov 24
Boreal:          60-78"  Open
Northstar:       50-65"  Open
Squaw Valley:    44-58"  Open
Alpine Meadows:  55-77"  Closed, opens Dec 10 ??
Mount Rose:      30-36"  Open, barely (located in Carson Range, well east of the main Sierra crest)
Heavenly:           48"  Was open, but closed today due to winds
Sierra at Tahoe: 64-76"  Closed, opens Nov 23
Kirkwood:        98-102" Closed (caution, snowfall data looks highly irregular and suspect for the last 3 days)
Bear Valley:        54"  Closed, opens Nov 26
Mammoth Mtn:     46-82"  Open
[/tt]

Quite a huge storm for pre-Thanksgiving!