Winter weather advisory issued for Lake Tahoe as ski areas ready to ring in New Year
Snow and wind are on the way to The Sierra, just as Lake Tahoe readies to ring in the New Year. A winter weather advisory has been issued for the mountains for Sunday from 5 a.m. until 8 p.m.
"Right now, we’re getting on the road," said Chris, who was headed to Palisades Tahoe with family on Saturday after picking up gear at California Ski Company in Berkeley. "Just go up and ski a couple of days and celebrate New Year's."
Caltrans is urging drivers heading to Lake Tahoe to be ready, and to bring chains for your tires, as excitement builds at area ski resorts for the incoming snow. The National Weather Service is forecasting 2 to 6 inches, with up to 12 inches above 7000 feet west of Highway 89. The Sierra could also see wind gusts of up to 60 mph.
"We’re really stoked. I mean, we’re probably going to get about nine inches of new snow on our upper mountain," said Patrick Lacey, Public Relations Manager at Palisades Tahoe, who added that the upper mountain received a foot on Friday. Heavenly Mountain Resort also picked up 11 inches over the week.
The steady stream of holiday visitors expected to arrive ahead of New Year’s Eve, coupled with the winter weather, prompted some ski areas to put out several key reminders.
"We definitely encourage people to carpool as much as possible, and definitely check out that Caltrans app before you head up the hill," said Lacey.
The California Office of Emergency Services also urged travelers to be prepared, and to make an emergency kit for your vehicle.
At California Ski Company, manager Greg Winkles, said he experienced an early rush of customers on Saturday.
"We got people coming in this morning for everything last minute, whether it was shoes or gloves or hand warmers, or just anything they forgot, as they were already on the road," said Winkles, who expects the conditions to be top-notch after the storm.
"Now that there’s some actual snow coming, this is when people tend to get excited," said Winkles. "More terrain's open, the lift lines will be smaller, even though there’s more people on the mountain, and everyone will have a really good time."