The last snow surveys of the season are starting to roll in and things are not looking great for the snowpack in Northern California this season. We saw a mini March Miracle, followed by an Apathetic April. The press release from the Department of Water Resources shows that, on average the snowpack its 37% of normal, with an SWE (water equivalency of 8.7 inches). The Phillips station in South Tahoe is reporting only 3% of average. Yikes!
What does that look like? Here’s a morning screenshot, courtesy of the Alpine Meadows webcam:
With the typical snow farming from the Kangaroo Run that would normally happen at this time of year to fill in the runout and loading zones, the Summit lift could still be running. Things are not so pretty everywhere. If you swing that camera around to the Promised Land view, things look much drier.
Late addition: The Alpine Meadows numbers are now in. 37 inches of snow fell in the month of April, bring the season total to 287 inches, which is 79% of the seasonal normal. The current total snowpack is lower than that number due to a significant melt off during the dry February.
We did a bike ride on the west shore yesterday and noted this view at Homewood. It already looks like summer, with lift maintenance already in progress. The base area at Homewood is about 600 feet lower than the Alpine Meadows base.
Taking a quick look at the 8 station index, the water year is looking pretty dismal. You need to go back to 1976-77 to see a drier year. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that the fire season this year could be big in Northern California.
Fortunately, Lake Tahoe is still sitting pretty close to its legal maximum. During our bike ride yesterday, there wasn’t much room on to lay on the warm rocks at Hurricane Bay to warm up from the chilling winds and cool temperatures.
More people are beginning to get the outdoor itch to come to Tahoe. You can’t blame them. Hopefully everyone will be mindful of keeping your distance. The most popular trails around Truckee have been feeling a bit busy lately: Legacy Trail, Trout Creek Trail, the mountain bike trails around Jackass Ridge. We’ve been seeking out some of the lesser travelled zones for bike riding and walking.
Therein lies the rub. We can’t really say where our favorite spots are located, lest they just become overcrowded too. It would be just like giving up our favorite powder stashes in a ski report. We just encourage you to find some new zones to explore. Hopefully, as the urge to explore and get outside grows, the Forest Service and State Parks will give us more room to spread out, rather than confining us to just a few areas.
Myself, I am so ready to do less yard work and get out and about…
Thanks for these updates — I appreciate the effort and I always find something informative or entertaining in them.
Glad you have decided against sharing special places. I was getting worried when I saw the recent cow pic you posted…. I am not saying where….