On Thursday, Feb. 28, an enormous Pacific storm front started passing over California’s Sierra Mountains and it has the internet in a tizzy. Blizzard conditions will continue through Sunday, March 2, dumping up to 10 feet of snow in some areas, according to local forecasters. It could be the biggest winter storm the Tahoe area has seen in years — possibly decades.
Following a rare blizzard warning issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) in Reno on Wednesday, the internet erupted over the oncoming weather. The prospect of 10 feet of fresh Pacific powder got skiers and riders excited for a potentially record-setting weekend. But ski resorts, weather pundits, and residents have a strong message for any hopeful weekend warriors: Stay home!
This storm will likely close Toahoe-area ski resorts and other businesses. It will also make travel extremely dangerous and even “impossible.”
“This will be a big storm,” Bryan Allegretto, Tahoe’s dedicated snow forecaster wrote in his daily Tahoe Open Snow post. “I wouldn’t try traveling through the mountains after Thursday morning until Sunday.”
Still, despite the grim warnings and imminent weather, there are people out there who won’t be turned away with words.
“Ignore this doomer wimp! Full send!” Reddit user cptninc wrote.
“‘Hey Google, directions to Tahoe’,” commented another user, EmmaTheHedgehog. “Thanks for the info. Going to be a mega day!”
‘A Different Kind of Storm’
Many of the comments on the internet are surely just people joking around or trolling. But there is a real fear that people will legitimately try and brave this storm to get to the slopes. That’s despite predictions that this storm will break multiple records for the Sierra, including one from 1989 when the mountains received 3.5 feet of snow in a single day.
In Allegretto’s Open Snow post from Wednesday, he referenced recent storm forecasts that had been overhyped by the media and NWS. He reiterated why people should trust them on this one.
“The one thing I’m worried about is that people have seen a lot of hype around a lot of storms this season from forecasters outside of the mountains that didn’t calculate in the southerly flows, splitting, and high snow levels, so people may not trust the hyped up forecasts for this storm and will try to travel through the Sierra,” he wrote. “But this is a different kind of storm and mountain forecasters agree.”
