The potentially dangerous conditions were associated with a powerful storm that was still more than two days away.

"Storm of Historic Proportions"
The front-page news about the weather bearing down on Lake Tahoe may have seemed excessive. But the forecasts were verified when a series of strong storms driven by a 225 mph jet stream buried portions of the upper elevations with more than 144 inches of snow between January 4th and 8th, to start 2008. BEFORE ane AFTER satellite images are at the bottom of this story.


Biggest Ever?
People wonder if this was the most powerful storm series in a long time. As is often the case with major weather events, the correct answer depends on location. Now that the recent weather has roared onto the east towards the Rockies, here are some facts that can help readers take stock and put the recent Tahoe weather event in perspective.

Working backwards from now:
• Three years ago, between December 28, 2004--January 11, 2005, 100 inches of snow fell at the Truckee Ranger Station. At the same time, the Central Sierra Snow Laboratory (CSSL) near Donner Pass tallied 155 inches of snowfall during the precipitation barrage. That's nearly 13 feet in 15 days! Palisades Tahoe totaled 12.5 feet (150 inches) new accumulation at the 8,200-foot level during the storm period, while other resorts claimed even more.
• During the same time span in '04-'05, observers in Tahoe City reported 118 inches of snowfall.
• In February 1999, Sugar Bowl was favored with an impressive 14 feet (168 inches) of powder in a potent three-day storm.
• In January 1952, 108 inches were measured, also in Tahoe City, during another four-day storm in which a cross-country train was stranded on Donner Pass with 226 people aboard for three days prior to rescue by ground crews. (See Tahoetopia archive on Home Page: Other Stories. "80-ton Locomotive Arrives. Was part of the Blizzard of 1952.")
• In January 1911, 130 inches were measured in Tahoe City in a four-day storm.

Over Reaction This Time?
The 2008 "Storm of Historic Proportions" is over and now that the flakes have settled, it's appropriate to ask the question: Was the media hysteria and national coverage dedicated to this storm appropriate? Here are the facts:
• After nearly six days of precipitation, snowfall totals along Lake Tahoe's north shore were nothing special, averaging about five feet.
• The barometric pressure of the most intense part of the three-storm series was about 29.37 inches, the lowest in modern times for California. Similar to hurricanes, the deeper the low the more powerful the storm, and this early January 2008 baby was no exception.
• Wind speeds were very impressive. Maximum sustained winds in the Bay Area reached 53 mph (about 20 mph less than the sustained winds of a minimum hurricane), but low altitude wind gusts near San Francisco peaked at nearly 90 mph.
• High winds ravaged the southern Sacramento Valley, including the city of Sacramento, with gusts to 70 mph.
• The extensive wind damage in the lower elevations put more than 1.5 million people in the dark up and down California.
• Near Lake Tahoe, the maximum wind gust peaked at a whopping 165 mph on Ward Peak at 8,637 feet in elevation.
• Total snowfall accumulations in the higher elevations at Tahoe ski resorts ranged from 6 feet to more than 12 feet, an impressive boost to the snow pack. • Although two skiers were injured at Palisades Tahoe USA in a small avalanche, there were remarkably few incidents of lost skiers and no fatalities.

So, across Northern California, it was a BIG storm.



Water
Even more important than the enormous boost of powder for skiers and boarders was the bulking up of the snow pack and its critical water content. Before this January storm, the Sierra snow pack stood at a miserly 40-50% of normal, and it appeared that a second consecutive dry winter was looming. But this current set of storms boosted the Sierra snow pack's water content up to 125% of normal for this date, a tremendous improvement in just six days.

Overall, there was understandable skepticism by some Tahoe locals about the hyped-up forecasts because weather systems earlier this winter have been disappointing, considering their predicted snow production that never materialized. The good news is that civil authorities, Caltrans, and the media took this series of storms very seriously. One of their considerations was the high number of visitors on holidays in Truckee and the Tahoe Basin, and their safety. Better over-informed than under.

Editor's Note: Below are BEFORE and AFTER satellite images of the Sierra from NASA. What a difference a week makes!