winter storms

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A mild day with light winds is in store today. A low-pressure area will approach late in the day and move through southern Nevada tonight. This will bring light mountain snow showers with a few valley rain showers. A stronger storm will bring periods of Sierra snow, valley showers, and gusty winds Monday through Thursday along with much cooler temperatures, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Reno.

We should see a burst of mountain snow in the Sierra on Wednesday and potentially

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Could the storm door be opening for the Lake Tahoe Basin? A series of weak to moderate winter storms will affect the area, each with widespread snow and wind impacts across the Sierra and western Nevada. This weekend's snowfall will be minimal at lake level.

A burned area assessment of the area burned by last month's Caples Fire is now underway. The Incident Commander Kevin Breitwieser has declared that the Caples Fire is now 100 percent contained and in patrol status at 3,435 acres.

There has been almost no change in fire size since October 18. The extreme wind event on October 26 that prompted a public safety power shutoff was a good test of the containment lines and resulted in three small spots that were extinguished. Traces of smoke from interior burning will continue to be visible, but no additional fire growth is expected.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Are you shoveled out yet from this week's snowstorm? Get ready for another weekend storm that is expected to dump up to three feet of snow at upper elevations.

There are two weather systems moving into the region, the first Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon, and the second later on Saturday into Sunday with lingering snow possible on Monday.

The first system is much weaker than the winter storms that just passed but there will still be snow accumulations and impacts to the region Friday afternoon

Get Out today… Partly to Mostly Cloudy Skies for your Finally Friday of the Holiday week… Plenty of Machine Groomed & Skier Rider Packed Snow… Ski or Ride with a buddy if venture Off Piste… Winds will increase by afternoon, so lifts will operate Wind & Weather Permitting. A Winter Storm Warning is now posted for Saturday morning thru Sunday morning… Get After it! Have Fun & Be Safe!

Today’s Weather: Expect Mostly Cloudy Skies. Highs: 42F-47F (32F-37F on the Slopes). Southwest Winds 10-15 mph. Ridge Gusts up to 50 mph in the afternoon.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Does this bus look any different than your usual school bus? Well it is. The little turquoise bird above the door with the electric cord tells all. It is an all electric bus!

Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) received a grant earlier this year to purchase two electric school buses. Tuesday was the first test drive of the production vehicle and we expect a few more test drives this winter If all goes well LTUSD expects to have the two buses in service by next school year.

Liberty Utilities is reminding customers to be prepared for possible extended power outages due to incoming winter storms.

The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning and avalanche watch starting Thursday morning for the Sierra and Lake Tahoe areas citing that this weather pattern could be the biggest snowstorm of the season.

”Although we prepare for extreme weather impacts to our electric system, we remind customers that power outages may occur and we encourage them to be prepared,” said Travis Johnson, Liberty Utilities’ VP of Electric Operations.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe supports Measure C, the ballot measure to fix potholes and repair road surfaces in the City of South Lake Tahoe. Fixing our roads protects Lake Tahoe, and is a critical complement to the advocacy by the League and many others to reduce pollution associated with Tahoe’s traffic. Taking action now is essential if we are to restore the Lake to its historic clarity.

Caltrans is alerting motorists traveling through the Truckee area that the on ramp from southbound Highway 89 to eastbound Interstate 80, as well as the off ramp from Interstate 80 to Central Truckee, will be closed from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, August 15 and Wednesday, August 16 for maintenance work.

The ramps sustained damage during the past winter’s storms. Preventing further erosion of the ramp’s pavement and shoulders will help mitigate damage anticipated from future winter storms.

The winter of 2017 has been full of surprises with record amounts of rain and snow, but one surprise came in the mail by wait of an electric bill.

Many Liberty Utilities customers have noticed their January and February bills were higher than expected. Due to extreme weather, the utility company had to bill based on estimated billing as actual meter reads were impossible. For some customers, actual reads may not have occurred until March if a customer’s scheduled meter read was during the February winter storms.

El Dorado County property damaged in 2017 winter storms are eligible for immediate property tax relief according to El Dorado County Assessor Karl Weiland. There are provisions of the County's Revenue & Taxation code that immediately reduce the assessed value in recognition of loss caused by storm damage.

Power is back on to the 136 customers in the River Road area off of SR-89 after last week's storm severely damaged power lines.

"We also want to sincerely thank those hardy customers for their patience and understanding during this multi-day outage until we could reach and repair the severe damage caused by the winter storms. At this time, most if not, all customers should have power restored," said Liberty Utilities spokesperson Kathy Carter.

This weekend’s snow storms delivered as much as 11 inches of fresh snow to the resorts around the Lake Tahoe basin, enough to prompt three resorts to open during the Thanksgiving holiday week.

Heavenly Mountain Resort and Northstar California Resort will open for the ski season Wednesday, Nov. 23 and Kirkwood Mountain Resort will open for skiing Saturday, Nov. 26.

A video depicting Nevada highway winter snow removal has been named a winner in the national “Faces of Transportation” competition sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).

Everyone hopes for a winter of big storms at Lake Tahoe. Recent media hype evokes images of a "Godzilla" El Niño. But for Tahoe, big storms come with big impacts to Lake clarity as snowmelt and stormwater runoff transport pollutants and fine sediment into the Lake.

So how do Tahoe communities protect the Lake from big storm events?

Liberty Utilities is reminding customers to always be prepared for winter storms and possible power outages that may result from them.

“Although we’ve made significant progress in reducing electrical outages since acquiring the utility nearly four years ago, the reality is that a really big winter storm can impact our ability to keep the lights on,” according to Mike Smart, President of Liberty Utilities-California.

With the approaching winter storm, Liberty offers the following outage preparation tips:

With a lack of winter storms in Lake Tahoe and the usual snow that accompanies them, visitors are looking for things to enjoy during their visit.

The calm water and mild days have been perfect for fishing, whether its boat fishing on Lake Tahoe or ice fishing on the frozen lakes in the area.

I ran into a group of fisherman just ending their venture onto the lake with Tahoe Sport Fishing on Tuesday. The group of men were from Australia, South Africa, Los Angeles and Sacramento and by the looks of their smiles and their catch, they had a great time.

A weak low pressure system will pass through region tonight, helping to increase winds and mix out valley inversions as well as bring light snow showers to the foothills and Sierra, according to the National Weather Service in Reno.

Snow levels could drop between 5,500 feet to 6,500 feet with slush snow accumulation of about two inches possible above 6,000 feet through Thursday, said Jessica Kielhorn, meteorologist technician with the weather service.

With Christmas and New Years Day each falling on a Tuesday this year, most families may be planning one or both holidays into a four-day event and traveling out of the area or staying near home and celebrating locally. Long holiday weekends generally means more motorists traveling on our state’s roadways thus increasing the calls for service for our agency. Please assist us with our highway safety efforts this holiday season by always driving with safety in mind first, being courteous to others motorists, and never drink and drive.

Arriving in time for the Christmas holidays, a series of winter storms are headed for Lake Tahoe prompting the National Weather Service in Reno to issue a Winter Storm Watch.
Snow amounts of 18 to 30 inches are expected above 7,000 feet and around a foot at lake level Friday through Saturday, according to the weather service.

The ever-changing forecast for a series of winter storms is calling for several feet of new snow between now and Monday as the first round of this Sierra storm has hit Lake Tahoe. Thanks to the highest elevations in the Sierra, it is currently snowing at Heavenly, Kirkwood at Sierra-at-Tahoe, the resorts report.

Here's the latest from the National Weather Service in Reno. Click on photos to see the illustration:

With last week's winter storms dropping nearly four feet of snow at Lake Tahoe's south shore, Heavenly Mountain Resort will open more trails and terrain beginning Saturday. Heavenly will open Galaxy Chairlift and the associated trails, Groove Terrain Park with six jumps and 18 creative features, and Lakeview Lodge, which is the final of Heavenly’s nine on-mountain restaurants to open.

A day after heavy smoke from a west slope prescribed fire in the Eldorado National Forest carried into the Lake Tahoe Basin, another controlled burn is planned closer to home before the onset of winter storms, according to the U.S. Forest Service. A prescribed fire is set for Wednesday in the McKinney and Rubicon Bay areas of Lake Tahoe's west shore.