See 100 mph wind gusts whip chairlift seats at Lake Tahoe ski resort before bluebird day
Video captured a Lake Tahoe ski area chairlift blowing in strong winds Friday as gusts reached up to 100 mph on the upper mountains.
But the Sierra Nevada mountains awoke Saturday to a beautiful bluebird day with very little wind and lots of sunshine and powder.
The video of the chairlift was taken by Marcus Morgan at Paliades Tahoe on Friday.
The new year arrived at Lake Tahoe area ski resorts with a fresh blanket of snow for skiers and snowboarders.
“This storm over-delivered, bringing us 13 inches at the summit and 14 inches at the base—well above the forecasted 9 inches,” Patrick Lacey, public relations manager at Palisades Tahoe, said in an email.
That brought the ski resort’s season total to 152 inches — more than 12.5 feet of snow.
This powerful wind was part of a storm system that moved through the Sierra and caused closures of some upper mountain ski lifts.
While the 100 mph gusts were significant, Palisades Tahoe recorded even stronger winds during a blizzard in early March 2024, when the resort measured gusts blowing more than 150 mph, and one reaching 190 mph.
Through the end of next week, ski resorts are expecting mostly sunny skies with highs in the 30s and 40s.
