© UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow LabSnow was falling at the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab at Echo Summit on April 11, 2022.
On Tuesday morning, temperatures were downright freezing. In the Tahoe area, South Lake Tahoe dropped to 9 degrees and Truckee 10 degrees, the National Weather Service said.
The storm dropped several inches of snow across the basin and higher elevations got more than a foot. More snow is on the way as early as Wednesday night and into Thursday.
A winter-like cold storm smacked the West Coast on Monday, dumping several inches of snow on California's Tahoe Basin in April. More storm activity is expected through Saturday, and over the course of the week, elevations above 6,500 feet could record totals of up to 1 to 3 feet of snow, said Jim Mathews, a forecaster with the National Weather Service.
"The pattern is similar through the weekend, and we'll be getting more of these colder systems from the northeastern Pacific in coming days," Mathews, who works at the weather service's Sacramento office, said. "We'll be getting more wintry weather this week than we've had most of this winter."
The unsettled weather arrived on the West Coast on Monday morning as a storm system that originated near the Gulf of Alaska swept the region. The system was focused over the Pacific Northwest on Monday morning, dumping heavy snow over the mountain peaks and even delivering a dusting of measurable snow in Portland.
"In 82 years of record keeping, #PDX had never recorded more than a trace of snow in April," the weather service office in Portland posted on Twitter. "That ended today. Looking out the window, it appears there will be more than 0.1 inch when all is said and done."
The southern edge of the storm passed over Northern California, and the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab at Donner Summit reported nearly 4 inches of snow at 8:49 a.m., with more falling.
The lab later shared at 12:24 p.m., "It's absolutely dumping snow out there!"
Caltrans implemented chain control on sections of Highways 50 and 80 early Monday. As of noon, chain control was still in effect on 80 and had been lifted on 50. Get the latest information from Caltrans.
Mathews said Blue Canyon in Placer County, which sits at about 5,000 feet, is expected to measure 8 inches by the end of Monday with another 10 inches in the forecast for Thursday.
As for Lake Tahoe, the arrival of snow should come as no surprise, as cold air has sank down the Western side of the USA, I've been watching live feed broadcasting of violent thunderstorms and tornadoes further South East as the cold air scrambles warm air upwards.
It's April and so much cold air does not bode well.