The Ski Lake Tahoe resorts welcomed the first significant early season snowfall over the weekend, helping kick start winter preparations and also set the stage for what is predicted to be an epic snow season in the Sierra Nevada. Top weather experts are predicting an El Niño scenario for the Sierra Nevada, which historically results in larger than normal snowfall totals.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Weather Service and Western Weather Group, this El Niño weather pattern is predicted to last throughout the 2009-10 winter season with a strong likelihood of these conditions strengthening as the winter progresses.
Cyclical El Niño weather patterns driven from the Pacific Ocean are a welcomed scenario by avid skiers and snowboarders and Lake Tahoe's close proximity to the coast results in massive snowfall totals for the region. With Lake Tahoe's propensity for winter storms that bring high concentrations of snow of 10 feet or more in a single storm system, the El Niño scenario is a great reason to book a ski vacation in Lake Tahoe this winter.
The most recent El Niño pattern in Lake Tahoe created near record snowfall with annual totals surpassing 700 inches and an exceptionally long ski season ranging from mid-October to July. The El Niño season of 1997-98 brought heavy early season snowfall and created ski resort base depths nearing 200 inches.
