CA Mother of All Storms
Up on the Rooftop: Deep Snow at Meyers, South Lake Tahoe, April 1969 (Photo Credit: Mark McLaughlin)
January 6, 2021
At first we thought it was a typo! In checking the weather predictions and ski reports for the week, Mammoth in southern CA was slated to get 110 inches. But there it was – a similar prediction for Tahoe areas and Kirkwood. We are lucky enough to know from personal experience that CA can get the goods big time – but really?!
Usually when we think of rivers in connection with skiing what comes to mind is a Mad River Glen ski report stating they are closed and letting the mountain drain after the latest rainapocalypse. But in this case the term “river” means good stuff. An “atmospheric river” has most of CA in its sights and promises to blast through the state for 4/5 days. We shall leave it to NOAA to define this tantalizing term: “Atmospheric rivers are relatively long, narrow regions in the atmosphere – like rivers in the sky – that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics. These columns of vapor move with the weather, carrying an amount of water vapor roughly equivalent to the average flow of water at the mouth of the Mississippi River. When the atmospheric rivers make landfall, they often release this water vapor in the form of rain or snow.” NOAA
For more on this check out the following resources:
Washington Post Story – Yes, it even made it into the Post!
Kevin Dennis is a life long ski bum with a 34 year legal career on the side. Now retired, he skis 80+ days a year. While he lives in Alta UT in the winters, he has traveled extensively through skiing and has skied almost every major resort in North America (and many you have never heard of). He continues to hit the road often throughout the western United States and Canada and trips over the last several years have included ventures in British Columbia, Montana and Colorado. Whether you want to know about the behemoths like Aspen or Squaw or are interested in the road less travelled (Lost Trail Powder Mountain in Montana or Whitewater in BC anyone?), Kevin has been there, has an opinion and you will most likely have to tell him to shut up after a half hour!