Winter weather advisory issued for Tahoe

A series of weak weather systems could bring rain to Carson Valley by Friday and perhaps even a dusting of snow.

A winter weather advisory was issued at 1:48 p.m. Wednesday for the greater Lake Tahoe area starting noon Friday with accumulations forecast of 3-6 inches at Lake level and 5-10 inches above 7,000 feet.

There’s a possibility of up to a foot of snow along the Sierra crest.

Forecasters warned motorists that mountain roads could be slicker on Friday evening.

“Even light snowfall causes major traffic delays especially during periods of high traffic volume,” forecasters said.

Minden posted a high temperature of 74 degrees, which set the record for March 2. The average temperature for the day is 19 degrees cooler. The record high temperature for March 3 was 73 degrees set in 2016.

The low temperature just six days earlier, on Feb. 24 was 7 degrees in Minden, where records have been kept since 1906. The record for Feb. 24 was 4 degrees and there was at least one spot in Minden that recorded 3 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

In a statement issued this morning by the U.S. Weather Service, the first system is due to arrive Thursday night through early Friday afternoon and will mostly affect the area south of Highway 50.

Forecasters said a colder air mass is expected to arrive on Saturday with a possibility that snow might make it into the Valley.

According to the Weather Service, there’s a possibility that more than a tenth of inch of rain will fall in Minden between midnight and 9 p.m. Friday, turning to snow early Saturday.

Any moisture beyond a trace in Minden would be more than has fallen in 2022.