Big Storm: 4 to 6 Feet?

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This just in from TahoeLoco's Weather Geek: The storm brewing in Northern California is a little wetter than predicted and it could bring 4 to 6 feet of snow to higher elevations in the next few days.

That's unbelievable stuff prior to Thanksgiving. Let's just hope it holds true.

You should also make sure you're checking road conditions and carrying chains, as getting up and over the passes could be very difficult with heavy winds.

Here's the latest report from TahoeLoco, a great site for all things Tahoe:

A very cold low pressure system forming in the Gulf of Alaska is moving south toward California this morning and will bring an eye-popping, season-opening winter storm to Tahoe this weekend.

This system is now forecast to tap into a little more moisture than previously forecast, and the forecasted snow totals are going up accordingly. With the cold temperatures, especially on Saturday and Sunday, the snow-to-water ratios will be high, around 20-to-1. That means each inch of water precipitation will be converted into 20 inches of snow. And the latest forecasts are calling for about 3 inches of precipitation.

Not all of that will be falling during the coldest period. But the Sacramento office of the National Weather Service says that four feet of snow is likely at the highest elevations by Monday. The Reno office is going further, suggesting that some parts of the Tahoe region could see six feet of snow by the time this storm moves east on Monday.

The snow will come in three distinct waves. The first will be this afternoon and tonight. Tahoe's peaks could see a foot or more from this wave by early Saturday. The second wave will be Saturday night into Sunday morning. We could see blizzard conditions with this wave and very heavy snowfall, 3 inches per hour or more. A third, more moderate wave is due Sunday afternoon before the snowfall turns to snow showers.

The showers are likely to continue through Monday. A separate low pressure system is forecast to move south down the east side of the Cascades and the Sierra on Tuesday. But it has been trending farther east and will not likely bring much snow to Tahoe, if any.

But it will bring a blast of cold, arctic air, and that cold air should remain present through Thanksgiving Day, although each day will be a little warmer. But plan on a cold, clear and very white Thanksgiving 2010.

Stay tuned here and we will update you as this storm takes shape.

In other words:

Back up the truck, folks. It's a gonna dump.

Back up the truck, folks. It's a gonna dump.

Posted By: Al Saracevic (Email) | November 19 2010 at 11:55 AM