Well, hopefully, you listened to the voice of reason today and did not bother driving to Squaw for skiing. As enticing as talk of fresh powder and more than 2 feet of new snow sounds – there were just too many issues to deal with today. High winds ended up closing both Squaw and Mount Rose today, shutting off powder hounds visions of fresh snow today. Sugar Bowl had already thrown in the towel yesterday. Kirkwood also severely limited operations today – with significant avalanche danger as the reason.
In case you have not paid attention to one of the many weather bloggers or TV forecasts, here’s the visual for Sunday at 6AM. Note the lack of pink colors that indicate snow:
In addition to heavy rain, winds will also be a factor. Sierra ridge winds are expected to be up to 140 mph tomorrow. Damaging winds are forecast all of the way down to Reno. We’re pretty much looking at a hurricane for tomorrow in the Sierras.
The flood warning we posted yesterday remains almost exactly the same today. Flooding is expected along the Highway 89 corridor and in lower laying areas near the Truckee River in Truckee. In Reno and Sparks, the situation continues to develop into a moderate flood event, with the Truckee River forecast to be up to 4 feet over flood stage.
We spent our afternoon sand bagging at the PM Gear factory in Sparks. PM Gear has been one of our site sponsors the last 2 seasons and they make some awesome skis. Sadly, they are in the last business park to be relocated by the Truckee River Flood Management Authority in Reno/Sparks. All other business parks along North Edison Way have been relocated to other areas – but legal wrangling has delayed the relocation efforts for PM Gear and about forty other businesses. A small army of people have been sandbagging in the area for two days. We were glad to help out Pat at PM Gear and hope to be skiing Bro Model skis for years to come.
Operations at Squaw are unlikely tomorrow given the weather conditions. Reportedly, some employees have been called in to fill sandbags to protect base area lifts and lodges. Yup, a lot of runoff is expected. Hopefully the colder air will come in sooner, less rain will fall, and we can get back into the business of skiing Alpine Meadows next weekend.
And as I was putting this post together, Andy Wertheim chimed in with his observations from Alpine Meadows:
Hello Skiers and Riders,
Squaw is closed today. Not really a surprise. They are claiming 20 inches of snow in the past 24 hours and 32 inches total for this storm on the upper mountain. I can see snow on the trees in the highest elevations around Alpine Meadows. However, it was pouring rain and howling wind overnight and into the morning hours. This afternoon the rain has lessened, but forecasters are calling for much more rain tonight and Sunday with very high winds. Snow levels are supposed to be very high which is not good, although the last of the storm may bring lower snow levels.
The local forecast is calling for flooding of the Truckee River between Squaw Valley and Truckee with levels not seen since the 1950’s. I guess we will wait and watch and hope for the best. Soil in the area is saturated causing water to seep into crawl spaces and garages in some homes. Snow that was covering the land along the Truckee River is gone. Perhaps the upper elevations will offer up some skiing when the sun shows up late Monday or Tuesday. That is the report from soaked Tahoe.
Enjoy your day,
Andy