road conditions

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is readying itself for the upcoming New Years Eve celebration at Lake Tahoe beginning Monday, Dec. 31. Each year upwards of 60,000 celebrants ring in the New Year in the casino core area of Stateline, Nev.

Due to the ordinarily high volume of celebrants within the Stateline casino core area during the event, U.S. Highway 50 may be closed to vehicle traffic in the evening if necessary for public safety. If that should occur, vehicle traffic will be diverted around the Stateline casino core area using upper and lower Lake Parkway Drive.

A series of strong winter storms will arrive in three waves and when it is over, anywhere from 2 to 5 feet of snow will have dropped above Lake Tahoe, at ski resorts, on highways and throughout much of the Sierra in time for Christmas.

A Winter Storm Warning issued by the National Weather Service is in effect through Monday morning for Lake Tahoe and the Sierra as a strong series of systems moves into the region.

Periods of light to moderate snow will begin Friday and intensive early Saturday morning with moderate to heavy snow Saturday through Sunday night.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit Christmas tree permits are sold out but tree cutting permits remain available on BLM lands in the Pinenut Mountains between Carson City and Yerington, the Clan Alpine and Desatoya mountains east of Fallon, and the Excelsior Mountains southeast of Hawthorne.

Monday morning has brought the first winter snow of the season to Lake Tahoe and the Sierra. Light to moderate snow is being reported this morning throughout the basin. The National Weather Service calls for 10 to 18 inches above 7,000 feet and 4 to 8 inches at lake level. A winter storm warning runs through Tuesday morning.

It’s that time of the year to pick up your copy of a widely-distributed and widely-read annual publication known as “Fishing The California Alps.”
That outdoor newspaper is your personal guide to the fishing, camping, sightseeing and vacationing world in our general area and it has many, many pages of in-depth information provided by lots of experts in their specific areas of knowledge and experience.
Be sure to use this 2012 edition as your handy and ready-to-use guide on what, when, where and how to enjoy the Great Outdoors.

High pressure will continue to build over the region, with sunny skies and warm temperatures in the Lake Tahoe Basin today and Monday, according to the National Weather Service in Reno. A strong cold front will move quickly across the region Tuesday, dropping temperatures up to 25 degrees compared to Monday. Winds will increase late Monday and Tuesday with gusts 40-55 mph in lower elevations, and ridge gusts in the Sierra exceeding 100 mph.

Heavy snow continues this morning, closing schools, but leaving ski resorts wide open for the onslaught of traffic to the Lake Tahoe Basin. Chains and snow tires are required over mountain roads and major highways into the basin. Go here for the latest road conditions and here for the latest weather information. Two to 4 feet of snow is expected in the Sierra with up to 30 inches at lake level. For the latest from Heavenly Mountain Resort, go here; from Sierra-at-Tahoe go here and from Kirkwood Mountain Resort go here.

With several inches already fallen in the Lake Tahoe Basin, a number of chain controls are required over mountain passes. Chains are required on Highway 50 over Echo Summit and chains or snow tires are required over Spooner to Carson City. Chains and snow tires are required on State Routes 28, 88 and 89 and 207 over Kingsbury Grade.

Here is the fishing report through Jan. 31. The report covers rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California, the Sierra and Southern Oregon.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is preparing itself for the upcoming New Years Eve celebration at Lake Tahoe, on Saturday, December 31st, 2011. Each year upwards of 50,000 celebrants ring in the New Year in the casino core area of Stateline, Nevada.

Highway 89, along the western shore of Lake Tahoe, is the root of the problem, Truckee's Gregg Betonte said. “We started getting pretty vocal about the issue this spring,” Betonte said. “(Th...