Following a year of abysmal snowfall in the Sierra, Lake Tahoe reached its natural brim this summer, an indication of extreme drought in the region. After the drought plagued summer, scientists estimated the mountains would need a historic 800 inches of snow to bring the lake up to its regular water levels. Based on the December snowfall, it actually might be possible to reach that number.
As of December 23, the Tahoe region has received 94 inches of snow for the month. The record for most December snowfall in Tahoe is 179 inches from 1970. With 90+ inches forecast for the region through next week, that long-standing record could easily be broken.
That amount of snow is significant for December, but not for the area as a whole. In fact, Squaw Valley (now Palisades Tahoe) smashed their monthly record for snowfall in February 2019 with more than 300 inches. That same month, Homewood received 336 inches, or approximately a foot of snow a day for the entire month.
Snow is currently falling hard on the Tahoe Basin, causing significantly traffic issues and even closing Interstate 80 through the week. If it keeps up, a brand-new snow record could be broken in the Sierra and the extreme drought could be all but over. Let’s hope the snow continues to fall!