Major storm heading to Lake Tahoe just as holiday travelers hit the highways

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A potent winter storm is becoming more likely for Thanksgiving Week and the National Weather Service in Reno (NWS - Reno) has issued a Special Weather Statement or the holiday week. Heavy snow is probable for the Sierra starting late Tuesday afternoon and through the day Wednesday. This is a cold storm and will lower snow levels to all valley floors by Tuesday night with accumulating snows possible.

Snow levels will fall to near 2000 feet by Tuesday night making slick and snowy road conditions possible all the way from western Nevada to the western foothills of the Sierra. Slow and difficult travel conditions should be expected on late Tuesday into Wednesday.

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is already one of the busiest travel days of the year, and with heavy snow expected for the Sierra and western Nevada, travel impacts will be significant, said NWS - Reno. Plan your holiday travel accordingly. If you have travel coming up next week, make sure to prepare your vehicle for winter travel conditions.

Highlights:

* Snowy Thanksgiving travel is looking probable. While exact details still need to be sorted out, the storm will be cold enough for snow down to valley floors, and for an extended stretch of all trans-Sierra roadways (not just the passes).

* At this point, the best travel days look like Monday into early Tuesday and then again on Thanksgiving. The weekend is still up in the air so stay tuned.

* Being that this is a very busy holiday travel period, significant travel delays are possible with any amount of snow. Please monitor the latest forecasts and plan ahead if you have travel plans for Thanksgiving.

A first look at the forecast for South Lake Tahoe from NWS - Reno:

Friday - Mostly sunny, with a high near 46. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph.

Friday Night - Mostly clear, with a low around 18. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.

Saturday - Sunny, with a high near 51. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Saturday Night - Mostly clear, with a low around 20. Calm wind.

Sunday - Sunny, with a high near 54.

Sunday Night - Mostly clear, with a low around 20.

Monday - Mostly sunny, with a high near 44.

Monday Night - Mostly cloudy, with a low around 13.

Tuesday - A chance of snow, mainly after 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 37.

Tuesday Night - Snow. Cloudy, with a low around 13.

Wednesday - Snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 29.

Wednesday Night - A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 9.

Thanksgiving Day - A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 29.