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.
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 Name | Snowfall 24 hrs | Base Depth | Open Trails | Open Lifts |
| Mammoth Mountain | 2 inches | 85-125 inches Powder | 160/173 96% Open | 20/25 |
| Boreal Mountain Resort | 7 inches | 80 inches Powder | 33/34 97% Open | 8/8 |
| Soda Springs | 2 inches | 75 inches Powder | 17/20 85% Open | 5/6 |
| Bear Valley | 4 inches | 72 inches Machine Groomed | 54/56 96% Open | 6/10 |
| Sierra-at-Tahoe | – | 72-93 inches Packed Powder | 46/47 100% Open | 6/14 |
| Kirkwood | 6 inches | 66-60 inches Packed Powder | 56/90 62% Open | 10/13 |
| June Mountain | 2 inches | 55 inches Powder | 42/43 98% Open | 7/7 |
| Mt. Shasta Ski Park | 5 inches | 53 inches Powder | 38/38 100% Open | 5/5 |
| Sugar Bowl Resort | – | 52-92 inches Packed Powder | 78/105 74% Open | 10/12 |
| Dodge Ridge | 6 inches | 40-50 inches Variable Conditions | 67/67 100% Open | 7/12 |
| Homewood Mountain Resort | – | 36-72 inches Packed Powder | 63/67 94% Open | 8/8 |
| Tahoe Donner | 2 inches | 30-50 inches Powder | 16/17 94% Open | 4/5 |
| Snow Summit | – | 24-36 inches Machine Groomed | 23/27 85% Open | 10/16 |
| Bear Mountain | – | 24-36 inches Machine Groomed | 15/15 147% Open | 7/12 |
| Heavenly | 2 inches | 20-66 inches Packed Powder | 97/97 116% Open | 28/28 |
| Palisades Tahoe | 7 inches | 20 inches Machine Groomed | 172/245 70% Open | 31/44 |
| Donner Ski Ranch | – | 20 inches Machine Groomed | 0/52 | 7/8 |
| Northstar California | 3 inches | 18-67 inches Machine Groomed | 100/100 89% Open | 19/20 |
| Snow Valley | – | 18-36 inches Machine Groomed | 11/32 34% Open | 7/12 |