During January a long parade of powerful, cold storms has pummeled the Tahoe Basin with deep, fluffy powder via an active series of storms barreling down out of the Gulf of Alaska. The run is over for now. High pressure with mainly dry conditions is forecast to keep winter storms at bay through much of this week.

14 Days
The area has enjoyed and/or endured 14 consecutive days of snowfall, some of it very heavy. High winds have made traveling treacherous at times and shut down Interstate 80. The storms were consistently cold with very low snow levels (down to 1,000 feet on the west slope foothills), which caused the snow to drift and generate blinding whiteout conditions at times.


Wind
Wind gusts in excess of 125 mph closed ski resorts and shut down chairlifts to the tops of the mountains. On February 4, at least one major ski area is closed to get time to dig out and get avalanche danger under control. A large avalanche blocked the road with a slide 20 feet deep and 300 yards across.

Trains Stopped
Reminiscent of January 1952 when a luxury passenger train with 226 people aboard was snowbound for three days west of Donner Pass, this last week about 400 people were temporarily stranded in the mountains after a railroad snowplow fell partially through the tracks. The mishap blocked the route of two Amtrak trains. The westbound train was pulled back to Reno and its 165 passengers put up in a hotel. The other train, which was headed east to Chicago, remained stuck in the mountains for a day or so. About 60 of the passengers decided to take a bus back to the San Francisco Bay area, but 155 people chose to "tough it out" by remaining with the
train. The train had heating and lights and the passengers were given food, which made it a much different scenario than the one in 1952.

Palisades Tahoe
Over the past two weeks, Palisades Tahoe USA has added 12 feet of snow to the upper mountain and is now boasting a snow pack from 11 to 14 feet deep. The current snow depths are an impressive improvement since the beginning of January when everyone was desperate for snow.


Precipitation has been spread throughout California during January. The northern regions received about 150% of normal and Los Angeles took on a whopping 249% of average. The water content of the snow is above average all over the state.