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Series of storms producing great ski conditions, boosting California’s snowpack

An atmospheric river storm, a long and wide plume of moisture pulled in from the Pacific, began sweeping across the northern part of California Friday and was expected to bring more rain through Saturday, according to the National Weather Service in Sacramento.

In the Sierra Nevada, up to another 5 feet (1.5 meters) of snow is possible in the mountains above Lake Tahoe, where a winter storm warning stretches into Sunday morning.

The series of storms spanning the late fall into early winter have produced stellar conditions at some of California’s ski resorts.

Mammoth Mountain reported a base depth of 85 inches at the main lodge and 125 inches at the summit on Friday, according to onthesnow.com. Further north in the Lake Tahoe area, Boreal Mountain Resort reported a base of 80 inches, with 7 inches of fresh snow over the past 24 hours. Soda Springs had a base of 75 inches.

Mammoth Mountain has received 167 inches of snow so far this season. Dec. 30, 2022

While it might be too early to discuss records, resorts are hopeful that Mother Nature will continue to deliver into the new year.

“The amounts of snow being forecast out of this next atmospheric river event in early January certainly have the possibility of threatening some records, but we’ll have to see how the pattern develops,” said Mammoth Mountain spokesperson Tim LeRoy.

The news is also encouraging when it comes to the impact on California’s drought situation. Surveys show snowpack running well above average for this time of year in the north, central and southern areas of the state.

According to the California Department of Water Resources, the Southern Sierra region is 184% of normal after having received 13.7 inches of “snow water equivalent” to date.

California Ski Report for Dec. 30, 2022

Resort NameSnowfall 24 hrsBase DepthOpen TrailsOpen Lifts
Mammoth Mountain2 inches85-125 inches Powder160/173 96% Open20/25
Boreal Mountain Resort7 inches80 inches Powder33/34 97% Open8/8
Soda Springs2 inches75 inches Powder17/20 85% Open5/6
Bear Valley4 inches72 inches Machine Groomed54/56 96% Open6/10
Sierra-at-Tahoe72-93 inches Packed Powder46/47 100% Open6/14
Kirkwood6 inches66-60 inches Packed Powder56/90 62% Open10/13
June Mountain2 inches55 inches Powder42/43 98% Open7/7
Mt. Shasta Ski Park5 inches53 inches Powder38/38 100% Open5/5
Sugar Bowl Resort52-92 inches Packed Powder78/105 74% Open10/12
Dodge Ridge6 inches40-50 inches Variable Conditions67/67 100% Open7/12
Homewood Mountain Resort36-72 inches Packed Powder63/67 94% Open8/8
Tahoe Donner2 inches30-50 inches Powder16/17 94% Open4/5
Snow Summit24-36 inches Machine Groomed23/27 85% Open10/16
Bear Mountain24-36 inches Machine Groomed15/15 147% Open7/12
Heavenly2 inches20-66 inches Packed Powder97/97 116% Open28/28
Palisades Tahoe7 inches20 inches Machine Groomed172/245 70% Open31/44
Donner Ski Ranch20 inches Machine Groomed0/527/8
Northstar California3 inches18-67 inches Machine Groomed100/100 89% Open19/20
Snow Valley18-36 inches Machine Groomed11/32 34% Open7/12
onthesnow.com