Palisades Tahoe said the first real snowstorm of the season could reach the mountain by late morning or midday Friday, then continue through Friday night before clearing on Saturday. By then, the resort said up to 5-9 inches could pile up near the base, with 11-16 inches possible near mid-mountain and 14-20 inches up top.
That is the kind of change skiers wait for. Two more days of mild weather on Wednesday and Thursday were expected to keep highs near 60 degrees at the base and in the 50s on the mountain, but the forecast then turns fast. Snow levels were expected to start around or just above 7000 ft. on Friday, drop to near the base by Friday evening and sink as low as 5000 ft. by Saturday morning, while ridgetop winds could gust to 80-90+ mph from the SW.
The timing matters because the mountain is trying to build both natural cover and machine-made snow before opening day at the end of next week. Palisades Tahoe said overnight inversions were making snowmaking difficult up on the mountain during the mild stretch, but colder air moving in should improve that work. As the system moves through, highs are expected to fall into the 40s at lower elevations and the 30s higher up, giving the resort a short window to add snow where it will matter most.
There is still a catch. The forecast is strongest on the first storm, but the second one is less settled. Palisades Tahoe said precipitation could return by Sunday night and linger into Monday, with some models keeping it going into Tuesday, but the amount is still uncertain. Model runs have been disagreeing on how fast and how well that second system holds together, even as the resort said it could bring 0.2 to 2.0 inches of precipitation and another 3-7 inches near the base, 6-11 inches near mid-mountain and 8-13 inches up top if it does.
Weekend conditions between storms could bring sun and clouds with gusty winds, and the winds are expected to ease before turning gusty again ahead of the next system. Palisades Tahoe said another storm could move through around next Wednesday, the 18th, while longer-range models point to a pattern going into Thanksgiving week that could either keep storms aimed at CA or let them weaken as they approach the coast. For now, the answer is in the first storm: if it verifies, the mountain gets its first real base-building snow of the season.
