Heavy Snow, Greater Lake Tahoe Area
- When
- December 5, 6:00 AM PST to December 6, 6:00 AM PST
- Where
- Greater Lake Tahoe Area forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.935, -120.458 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in California, December 5 to 6, 1996
Lake Tahoe ski resorts reported heavy snow amounts over a 24 hour period. Some significant reports were 24-36 inches at Mt.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS REV wrote it up.
Lake Tahoe ski resorts reported heavy snow amounts over a 24 hour period. Some significant reports were 24-36 inches at Mt. Rose, 20-32 inches at Kirkwood, and 17-23 inches at Heavenly. Other ski resorts gave 12 hour amounts since the previous day such as 14 inches at Alpine Meadows and 10 inches at Northstar.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Heavy Snow
- Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heavy Snow in Utah, December 5 to 6, 1996
- Heavy Rain in California, December 5, 1996
- Heavy Rain in California, December 5, 1996
- High Wind in Colorado, December 5, 1996
- High Wind in New Mexico, December 5 to 6, 1996
- Tornado in Oregon, December 5, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Virginia, December 5 to 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, December 5, 1996
- Winter Storm in Colorado, December 5 to 6, 1996
- Heavy Rain in New Jersey, December 5 to 6, 1996
- Winter Weather in North Carolina, December 5, 1996
- Heavy Rain in Pennsylvania, December 5 to 6, 1996
More
Every storm in California in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in California, December 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5543941.