News

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - As if the feet of snow the Sierra Nevada have already received over the last few weeks weren't enough, more storms are heading to Lake Tahoe. Friday was a day of calm and a chance to prepare before the next series of colder winter storms arrives starting Saturday. This first Pacific system arrives Saturday, with a stronger one Sunday morning. A strong atmospheric river event is expected to impact the region Monday through Wednesday next week, bringing heavy Sierra snow, gusty winds, and possible low-elevation flooding concerns.

6:30PM UPDATE: Power has been restored to most of the affected Liberty Utilities in South Lake Tahoe. The Hope Valley customers are still out.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - There is another power outage in South Lake Tahoe, this time in Bijou Pines along with a segment near Ski Run Blvd. There is also an outage for 27 customers in Hope Valley and another near Markleeville with 71 customers in the dark.

According to Liberty Utilities, a total of 2,831 customers are without power.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The new year continues to bring heavy snow and rain. This is great for water supply but very challenging for utility agencies. During power outages, South Tahoe Public Utility District (STPUD) asks customers to conserve water, as all the water and sewer pumps are running on emergency generators. If your neighborhood is flooding, the wastewater collection system and treatment plant are likely being inundated. Do not open manholes. Run sump pumps into the storm drain and not into the sewer system.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - Douglas County School District has announced Zephyr Cove Elementary and George Whittell High School will be closed on Thursday due to roads and weather. Valley schools are open with "hub" bus stops only (see here for info).

Students at Lake Tahoe Unified, Washoe County, and Tahoe Truckee school districts are on holiday break this week.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - With a rapidly changing storm situation in the Sierra and El Dorado County, a new website has been created to contain all of the emergency alerts, road closures, warnings, and more.

The public can find the following tabs on the new website in order to have the most recent information:

Animal Services
County Road Closures
Emergency Alert Messages
Emergency Proclamation
Evacuation Orders and Warnings
General Tips
Local Assistance Centers
Non-Emergency Dispatch Phone Numbers
Prepare for Flooding and Debris Flow
Report and Track Power Outages

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A term that has been getting a lot of coverage with the incoming storm is "bomb cyclone," but was is it? A "bomb cyclone" is an area of a low-pressure system that intensifies by 24 millibars within 24 hours (millibars are a unit used to measure atmospheric pressure).

This is not a new meteorological term and has been around for quite some time, but it hadn't been used much. It is more common in the northeast where they see rapidly changing pressure systems more often, but it happens in the west as well.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Liberty Utilities is staging crews and preparing for potential impacts from the incoming storm.  They encourage customers to prepare as well. 

Winter weather and extreme winds are anticipated across the region this week. The expected combination of snow, freezing temperatures, and dangerous winds may produce hazardous conditions and the potential for outages. Liberty's crews are prepared to respond to outage emergencies. Liberty encourages customers to prepare as well. 



Prepare in advance

The first snow survey of the season at Phillips Station was conducted Tuesday by the Department of Water Resources (DWR). This manual survey recorded 55.5 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 17.5 inches, which is 177 percent of the average for this location which is at the entrance to Sierra-at-Tahoe.

The snow water equivalent measures the amount of water contained in the snowpack and is a key component of DWR’s water supply forecast. Statewide the snowpack is 174 percent of average for this date.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The California Legislature was busy in 2022, passing nearly 1,200 bills with nearly 1,000 of those becoming law after they were signed by Governor Newsom.

It is hard to know what is new for 2023, but good to know that many were minor fixes to previous laws, while others pertain to certain industries or phased in over time.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Pacific storm door has opened and an active weather period will be bringing more storms to the region. The National Weather Service (NWS) in Reno has issued a Winter Storm Watch for the Lake Tahoe Basin in effect from Wednesday, January 4 at 10 a.m. to Thursday, January 5 at 10 p.m.

Heavy, wet snow is possible with total snow accumulations of 8 to 12 inches, except 1 to 2 feet with isolated amounts of 3 feet above 7000 feet possible. Winds could gust as high as 100+ mph along the ridges.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) and El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO) received a call on Sunday, January 1 about a road rage incident near the Y in South Lake Tahoe.

The caller said another driver had brandished a handgun at them during the incident. They said they saw the suspect crash his vehicle into a snowbank in the eastbound lanes of Lake Tahoe Blvd.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Just as everyone is clearing out after the New Year's Eve storm, two more incoming storms are expected to impact the Lake Tahoe Basin again this week, with additional storms into the second week of 2023.

For this week, a weak storm will bring light snow accumulations to all
elevations from late Monday afternoon through daybreak Tuesday. A stronger storm will then bring gusty winds late Wednesday with another round of heavy wet Sierra snow and a mixture of rain and snow to lower elevations Wednesday night and Thursday.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Almost 3,000 Liberty Utilities customers on the South Shore, and thousands of NV Energy Customers from Douglas County to Reno are still without power to start 2023.

Crews are working around the clock to restore power.

Caltrans representatives said Saturday has been one of the most challenging they’ve ever experienced due to the massive atmospheric river that hit California.

Here are some 7:30 p.m. Saturday updates:

Interstate 80 remains closed between Colfax and the state line due to whiteout conditions and dozens of stalled vehicles to rescue over Donner Summit. It most likely will remain closed for several more hours as the snow continues to fall at a steady rate.

Highway 50 reopened at about 5:30 p.m. but they will be holding traffic periodically overnight for avalanche control.

4:30 PM UPDATE: The power outage at Lake Tahoe has grown to almost 20,000 Liberty Utilities customers. At 4:12 p.m., a large outage occurred affecting much of the South Shore. There is no estimated time of restoral of power.

NV Energy is also reporting multiple outages, over 26,000 customers are affected in Northern Nevada.

Most of the California Liberty outage is due to the power it receives from Nevada's NV Energy. Still no cause being released.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The atmospheric river is living up to its name as heavy rain fell overnight throughout the region, leaving in its wake rivers in flood stage, roads impassable, and major issues for the homeless of South Lake Tahoe.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Travelers need to be aware of road closures before traveling in the Sierra. As the rain turned to heavy snow Saturday morning, rock and mudslides occurred.

US50 is closed from Sly Park to Meyers due to heavy flooding and mud at a few spots, mostly west of Whitehall. There is no estimated time of opening and motorists are advised to use alternate routes and expect delays. No detours are provided.

There is also a closure at Sly Park Road.

SR89 is closed around Emerald Bay.

Caltrans has no estimated time for the road reopening.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The following is a list of calls the South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to during the week of December 20-26, 2022. Location Checks are when officers search an area at a certain address. Transient/Homeless arrests/citations and calls are those normally categorized in other columns (Drunk in Public, Trespassing, etc.) but stats are collected separately.

Log for December 20 - December 26, 2022:

12/20

Arrests

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The snow year is off to a good start for 2022-23 after this month's snow followed by rain covering the mountains that feed into California and Nevada's water supply.

As of December 29, the snowpack in the central Sierra is at 154 percent of the average for this date, and 52 percent of the April 1 average. The snow water equivalent is 14.4 inches, the amount of water contained and collected should the snow melt. The state as a whole is close, with snowpack at 156 percent of the average for the date, and 51 percent of the April 1 average.

Nevada’s nonrestricted gaming licensees reported a total “gaming win” of $1,220,869,734 for the month of November 2022, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board's monthly report released today. This amounts to a 7.62 percent decrease compared to November 2021, when licensees reported a gaming win of $1,321,592,551. For the fiscal year (July 1, 2022 through October 31, 2022), the gaming win has barely increased, up by .76 percent.

The "gaming win" represents the computed income of casinos before business expenses and taxes.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. - County officials are informing residents to prepare for flooding due to storms moving through the region this Friday through Sunday. A Flood Watch is in effect for the Lake Tahoe Basin and Western Nevada from Friday morning through Saturday evening. Douglas County residents could expect to see some road closures on arterial roads such as Mottsville, Centerville Lane, Muller Lane, and Genoa Lane. Residents are encouraged to check the Douglas County website and social media channels for updates on flooding and road closures.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The end-of-the-year numbers concerning fentanyl in California show the state's National Guard and other agencies have confiscated 28,765 pounds of the deadly drug in 2022. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) said this amount is enough to kill every person in North America two times.

This is a 594 percent increase in the amount seized when compared to 2021.

When roads are wet from rain, water over the roadway reduces your vehicle’s tire traction. Add to that the fact that rain can reduce or impair a driver’s view of the road, and it’s easy to see that driving in the rain needs to be treated with extra caution.

Statewide, more than 175 crashes occurred in inclement weather between Oct. 1, 2021, and April 30, 2022, including two fatalities. Many of the crashes were due to unsafe driving in the rain, snow, and other wet conditions, such as driving too fast for conditions, following too closely, or failing to maintain a lane and overcorrecting.

TUESDAY UPDATE: There is an update on the locations of the bags. Public Works Maintenance Yard at 1160 Rufus Allen will not be providing sandbags and it will be at the Recreation Center at 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd., in the back parking lot. Both this location and the fire station are open 24x/7 and bringing a shovel is recommended since supplies are limited.

El Dorado County is also offering sandbags. They are at 1834 Santa Fe Ave. in Meyers