If you happened to be in the Bay Area over the weekend, you probably noticed some pretty significant precipitation pounding down on you. While it may have ruined your weekend picnic in the park, the rain you experienced translated into a very welcome thick blanket of fresh snow for Tahoe resort operators, skiers, and snowboarders.
The storm that rained down on San Francisco over the weekend brought a delightful and thick fluffy blanket of snow to the Lake Tahoe ski resorts. After two reportedly sub-standard seasons on the Tahoe slopes, the early snowfall has been received quite well, as expected.
A spokeswoman for Alpine Meadows Ski Resort said on Sunday afternoon, “It’s still snowing right now. There are a lot of people skiing and snowboarding, and they’re up to their waists in snow.” Some resorts were reporting that more than four feet of snow had fallen since the storm began on Thursday, including nearly half of it which fell on Saturday alone. “The great part of getting snow like this early is it really sets us up for the entire winter,” adds Woods.
Just one day after the luxurious grand opening of the Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort’s first five-star hotel, the $300 million 170-room Ritz-Carlton Highlands, approximately 45 inches of snow fell providing guests of the new hotel with a true ski-resort atmosphere. Officials in the area are hoping that the Ritz-Carlton will turn out to be the economic boon that the region needs.
If you’re up in Tahoe skiing among the happy snow bunnies, there’s some great news coming out of the National Weather Service. They are reporting that yet another storm system will be heading your way which will bring snow on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Down in the Bay Area, unfortunately, the news isn’t as great. More snow in Tahoe means more rain for you. The crews in the area already had to repair a broken water main over the weekend that had opened a 20-by-20-foot sinkhole in the South Market neighborhood on Saturday night.
