UPDATE: More pics! How bad it is in the Sierras? I'm literally stuck in my house since last week!

[FirstLight]

Last edited Mon Dec 27, 2021, 05:43 PM - Edit history (3)

Haven't seen this much in one go since I moved up here in '92.

The shovel broke Thursday so I have had to let the desk & stairs go till my sone can get over here and dig me out. He's stuck at his Gf's till this stops.

Right now it's blown in drifts, up to the railing... well over 4' since Thursday. ANd a few before that. I can hear the roof creaking under the weight...and the wind was so bad last night it woke me and the dog up several times.

ALL highways in and around Tahoe are closed till further notice. TONS of tourists thought they would come up and play for a white christmas and now are stranded all over on local roads and lined up to go over the mtns home. The Sheriff and Cal Trans have been BEGGING for people to stay put, as emergency services are tapped out with spinouts etc.

These are views of the streetcorner from the living room...you can barely see the top of the stop sign and of the "walkway" to go downstairs...ha! where's the stairs???

[url=https://ibb.co/zJ3MGxV][img][/img][/url]
[url=https://ibb.co/VCWpFQH][img][/img][/url]
[url=https://imgbb.com/]photo sharing[/url]

UPDATE: See below in replies for the newest pic this morning. STILL NO PLOW in over 48 hours. There's a rumor that the County plow drivers are on strike. That would be disastrous. I think I need to invest in a snowmobile!!!

[Wingus Dingus]

1. Are you able to clear the roof of snow? Would be worrisome to

hear the roof creak from that weight.

[FirstLight]

3. not until I have a shovel! lol

The whole town is shut down till tues/wed... then hopefully I can get someone over here to help. I dont think my son can do the roof...

Though a friend of mine pointed out, it's not my house's first rodeo. And the roof is newer. So I just gotta trust I'll be ok for the next 48 hours.

[Backseat Driver]

16. My rooftop beams (townhouse multifamily rental) creak not from the weight of snow but

from contraction/expansion as temps get very cold/dry quickly via an Artic Express out of the NW and/or polar vortex as the jet stream dips south with a named winter storm headed northeast to the coast clashing with moisture from the Gulf and into the Ohio/Tennessee River Valleys (the reason Mayfield KY got leveled by that severe thunderstorm line that spawned the monster out of season night time December tornado) These are yet to come this season as we stand between warming air from the south with temps up again into the 40s/50s with humidity acting like a roller coaster. Already the ducks and the early magnolias are getting plenty confused!

That said, I'm so happy the Cascades/Sierras/elevations above the Central Valley's farming areas are getting the moisture replenishment needed for the reservoirs and those sites in the Plains for the aquifers instead of a dry/windy fire season. I hope and pray it sticks around and melts slowly into spring, so you'll escape the avalanches of weight and wind and landslides with quick melt run-off and heavy rains that won't soak the forests.

Climate changes that bring winter storms aren't great when one has not prepared adequately. Have you a strong youngster as a relatively close friendly neighbor to warm w/some soup after shoveling walkways in front of exits with the blower and a strong ladder from which to debulk the snows on the roof tops? They welcome a monetary tip as well, I'd guess, and they seem quite fearless now days. Fairy tale homes in the high elevations not designed well for long privations like these storms bring probably means one shouldn't temp Mother Nature and/or the utility companies to keep safe when they are currently on the warpath against each other and humans! Use that creative Western pioneer spirit to substitute for that shovel!

[FirstLight]

17. we "thought" we were prepared... been here 30 years.

My sone is 19 and worked for the CCC so he's got it handled...then both shovels broke and he got stuck at his GF's house and here we are. I have a snow guy but he is unreliable, as are the plows!

My neighbor is at her BF's house and nobody else is nearby right now. My house is built 1973, so it's should be ok. Im sure it's been buried before

[Sympthsical]

2. Yep, cancelled our trip to Tahoe

We were supposed to go to a friend's cabin by Northstar for the holiday and saw all the forecasts. Let's see, a holiday warm inside with cocoa catching up on Netflix, or off on a freezing highway for hours, swearing profusely.

No regrets.

We're rescheduling for January. The snow will keep.

[FirstLight]

4. Good for you! The vacay renters next door

just freaked out and left... so they can go sit on the roads for hours


narly

[Sympthsical]

5. They must have zero experience. Oof.

Yeah, the original plan was to go up early Thursday morning and leave late Sunday morning because I have tickets to some thing in the evening. No way we would've made it back.

Shivered just thinking about it.

My favorite thing about holiday types - let's play who knows what chains are!

[FirstLight]

7. pics on the "locals" FB page of all kind of crazy shit on the roads!

Literally a huge RAM 4x4 (no chains) STUCK on the Main Drag (Hwy 50/Lake Tahoe Blvd)

If people are getting stuck on the main roads, my neighborhood is a arctic tundra!

The local PD is putting out notices on social media that they canNOT pull you out and that we are down to ONE tow truck in town. Even the plows are getting stuck!

SNOWMAGEDDON 2021

[BlackSkimmer]

6. That looks beautiful!

Though I realize it might seem a bit more complicated than that from your vantage point!

[FirstLight]

8. ...is is i guess in it's own way. It's also dangerous AF

after 30 years I have learned not to fuck with snow. It's unpredictable and freezing to death is not fun...

I'm just glad I have power and heat and food right now...and internet

[BlackSkimmer]

9. Yeah, I understand. My sis lived in that area years ago.

Snow can be deadly. Stay safe.

[Tetrachloride]

10. For those of you inexperienced at snow shoveling,

1. The Tahoe snow looks like the wet type. so its heavy.

2. A full shovelful is a mistake. Heart attack or torn muscles.

3. Some shovels are more effective and safer than others.

4. Wear a hat that covers the ears.

5. if your socks or gloves are wet, it’s time to go inside.

[FirstLight]

11. Damn skippy....

A friend just suggested I go steal the shovel from the front porch of the vacay rental...

#1 I can't see if the shovel is even OUTSIDE

#2 I can't even GET to the street, down the stairs, much less next door

#3 If you are older, have arthritis (or a compressed disk, like me), high BO etc...shoveling can actually fuck you up BAD!

[iemanja]

14. Yes, I hire a service

because my back can't take it. Services are probably unable to get to customers there because the roads are blocked.

[FirstLight]

18. The plows out here in the County have been terribly unreliable this year.

They are having staffing and housing issues. and my "guy" can't get here if the plow hasn't run...

Then again, I can't go anywhere either if the plow hasn't run!

So, I wait.

Got leftover pumpkin pie etc...sadly no wine.

[iemanja]

21. I'm sorry you're out of wine

but am glad you have food.

The liquor stores here in MN are always packed before a storm.

[Tetrachloride]

15. ))) A cake pan might work in emergency. I post for the enjoyment of the

members inexperienced in snow inundation.

Keep the door safe from freezing shut.

[wnylib]

30. Brooms also work, but not if the

snow is too moist and heavy.

Here in "lake effect snow country" (Buffalo region) we had rain and temps in the 40s and 50s for Christmas. A light dusting of snow on Thursday melted by mid morning on Friday.

[Disaffected]

36. High BO??

Enough to melt snow?

[inthewind21]

53. How does it

"look like the wet type?" If it's anything like what fell in the foothills, it's not. It's light and fluffy and blowing all over the place. Hence the drifts.

[FirstLight]

12. One thing I have learned this week... Is that when stocking up, it's NEVER enough!

I should have bought more wine

[FakeNoose]

13. Watch out for overhead branches breaking from too heavy snow

Sometimes even a whole tree can fall over, but usually it's just a branch that breaks off. It can happen unexpectedly, and there's no advance warning.

Stay safe my friend. Maybe the sun will come out ... tomorrow!

[FirstLight]

22. A whole top half of a tree snapped on a friend's house years ago

They were lucky everyne was in the living room, half the house was destroyed.

Good thing I just got my insurance all squared away after the fire...

All I can do is stay put and hope for the best!

[malaise]

19. That is some serious snow

Stay safe. :grouphug,

[2naSalit]

20. That's what it SHOULD look like here...

In Montana. We're getting some now but far from where we should be with re to snowpack. The bitter cold dries all the moisture out of the snow so whatever moisture we get from this system, it won't be worth anything in a week if it stays around.

[FirstLight]

23. I'd GLADLY share some of this shit with you!

[2naSalit]

24. I'm sure you would...

Just look at it as water storage for next summer when you really will miss the snow.

[FirstLight]

25. ...I NEVER miss snow! lmao

I often say living here is like a bad relationship...

Every winter "This sucks, I'm outts here!"

Spring/Summer "Awww...it's okay, I forgive you, I'll stay..."

rinse repeat: 30 years!

I'm getting too old for it now though. I could be done by next year

[2naSalit]

26. Well...

I'm with you on the "getting too old for this" part and am looking to change location when the winter is over.

[mountain grammy]

35. I hear ya

been here in the Colorado mountains for 26 years and I hate the snow.. we got over a foot from your storm. heavy wet snow, not the powder we normally get.. shoveled 3 times Friday and twice on Sat. Broke one shovel but have plenty more. Got a few more inches today and lots of wind.. We escaped to Denver today for a few days of 40+ degrees and NO snow.
Biggest storm we had was 2003.. 5 feet of snow in 24 hours.. hope I never see that again. Like being buried alive.

Stay safe. Hope your snow guy shows up. My plow guy did Friday am.. glad to see him. This is my last winter here, I swear, one way or another.

[Disaffected]

37. 'The bitter cold dries all the moisture out of the snow ....'

How does that work?

[2naSalit]

41. Snow can dehydrate...

I know it sounds weird and I didn't think it could until I had to "work" with snow. Extreme cold, like temps around and below 0F, actually suck water out of the snow. If you've ever been walking in snow at subzero temps you may have noticed that the snow actually crunches and sounds like styrofoam. It is, at that time, losing moisture.

[Disaffected]

46. I'm not sure that's what is actually happening.

Yes, as snow gets colder, its physical characteristics change (hence, the crunching sound and, greater traction/less slippery property). IMO that is not because water is being drawn from the snow, it is because the ice/snow is more physically hard at vey low temperatures. In fact, at temperatures much lower than what are ever found in nature, water ice can become as hard as rock.

Another important factor is that ice/snow can melt at temperatures below the freezing point if subjected to pressure. This is why ice skating works as well as it does (the pressure exerted by the narrow metal blades is high enough to melt the ice at the contacts points). The same phenomime also explains why skating is more difficult in very cold weather and why car tires get better traction in very cold snow.

Ice loosing water at lower temperatures is actually counter to what would be expected which is why snow that falls at or about the freezing point is typically "wet" and "heavy" while snow that falls at, say -40, is typically thought of as being "dry".

[Solly Mack]

27. Stay safe and stay warm!

[niyad]

28. So glad that you are safe and warm, with power, for now, at least. I remember one

Storm in Tahoe in the mid (?) '70's. Well, actually, we were not quite sure if it was one Storm that lasted the entire month of March, or 31 separate storms. Pretty much everything in Lake Tahoe was like your photos or worse. I remember one news segment later in the month. A reporter was standing on snow and saying, "I am standing in front of a four story apartment house. You can't see it because I am standing on 40 feetof snow." It was crazy.

Then, in the '80's, remember that system that shut down various sections of the West Coast for a couple of weeks? Snow, rain, fog.
Airports, roads closed in different areas almost daily. SFX wold open, Seattle would close. One section of highways would open, different areas would close. Nwreports BEGGED people not to travel unless absolutely necessary. I remember walking across the skybridge between the two Hilton buildngs, and overhearing two women from Sacramento whining because they were stuck there in Reno. The passes had closed again. Being a kind and helpful soul, I stopped, and pointed out to them that every TV and radio station and newspaper had been advising for days NOT to travel. And, even had they not seen or heard the advisories, the fact that it had been raining and snowing for over week should have been a clue. I thanked them for enriching our coffers.

[AllaN01Bear]

29. im in sonora ca elev 1800 feet .

according to a noaa severe winter storm warning ,we were to get 1 to 2 feet below 2000 thousand feet thur. didnt come , was to be fri. xmas eve , didnt come . then tonight .
https://www.wunderground.com/severe/us/ca/sonora/KCASONOR125

[James48]

31. Great news!

This should help that drought, no?

[FirstLight]

33. Yeah, but I'd prefer NOT to get it all at ONCE! lol

[OnlinePoker]

32. Statewide average of 146% of normal for this day.

https://cdec.water.ca.gov/reportapp/javareports?name=swccond.pdf

[Tommymac]

34. I think it was 1979 when I was in Tahoe and some weather like this happened

I was out there for 10 days or so, think it was early/mid January, and was looking forward to learn to ski. My brother had rented a house right at the bottom of Heavenly Ski Resort in South Lake Tahoe. (Bartender at one of the casinos and raked in the big tips.)

But for the first 7 days - NO SNOW! At all - it was warm and dry. However went to bed one night and woke up the next morning and there was literally 4 or 5 feet of snow EVERYWHERE! So much the parked cars on the streets were all drifted in.

WOO HOO! I got to learn to ski after all and had a blast!

Later in life I lived in the Colorado Rockies at 8000 feet and I learned the vagaries of mountain weather. At times, snow in early July and 70 degrees in February. Go figure.

[CaptainTruth]

38. I remember ski resorts around Tahoe reporting 40-50 foot bases.

I wish you the best! I know what that's like. I used to live in the East Bay & go to Tahoe regularly, & I remember years with good snowfall when resorts like Squaw Valley & Heavenly reported a 40-50 foot base, meaning 40 to 50 feet of packed snow under the fresh powder. I remember seeing snow up to the roofs of houses & tunnels that people dug to get out their front doors. Driving on 89 when it was like driving through a canyon with walls of snow on both sides of the road. It made me laugh when other parts of the country got 10-12 inches of snow & everything shut down. There are people in the Sierras who deal with 10-12 *feet* of snow, at least, & they're not on the news.

Some examples:

[link:https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRGaj39PpjBTiU7XnQBfx1zs5XxGERBkoMCew&usqp=CAU|]

[link:|]

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[link:|]

[FirstLight]

39. pretty sure we will look like that after this week!

Just heard that the ElDorado County plow drivers went on strike...hope not!

[2naSalit]

44. Now that's what I'm talkin' about...

That's what it should look like around here come March, has for several years, maybe ten years since I've seen snow like that in the high country.

[Mister Ed]

49. Looks to me like the Mt. Rose hwy, just short of the summit.

Did I guess right?

[inthewind21]

54. This was like

Feb 2019.

https://www.rgj.com/story/news/2019/04/01/lake-tahoe-basin-winter-ranks-4th-largest/3336895002/

[NowISeetheLight]

40. This is on the Palm Springs news every night

I’ve been watching the weather up in NorCal. I’m sure glad I’m not there. Hope your power and heat hold out until you can dig out.

[FirstLight]

42. UPDATE: Freak out: gotta make it thru another night...

I dont know what it's gonna look like in the Am but I am freaking out a bit.

My son's GF dad is a major contractor in town and he heard the plow drivers are on strike. I cant find news to confirm. My gas meter needs to get cleared to prevent a fire and I have never been this stranded in 30 years here.

the stairs are now over waist deep. I'm pretty much broke and can't pay anyone to rescue me. I have one credit card left and I only have a low limit....and no way to pay it off ...ugh...i hate this.

Gonna put out an SOS tomorrow AM for help...I can't live like this for another week!

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

52. Hope you get help soon. Being completely snowbound, like you are,

with no end in sight, is scary.

[Demovictory9]

43. Wow..so much snow

[ForgedCrank]

45. I'm a little twisted,

I would LOVE to be buried in that much snow!
We've got plenty of food and 2 stroke oil, bring it on!

[Grins]

47. "...my son (is)...stuck at his Gf's till this stops."

Poor baby.

Happened to me years ago. “Stuck” with a cute brunette for three days with 28” of that white hell outside.

Ohmigawd! Why am I smiling?

[FirstLight]

48. lol...he's stuck with her whole family, and they are only 18

but that's funny..

[Archae]

50. My sister has as much snow!

Link to tweet

[pfitz59]

51. I grew up near Tahoe

and the homes on Echo Summit were mostly A-frame, with a second-floor entry (for when the snow gets really deep). Many of those old cabins burned this past summer.

[calimary]

55. Wow - those photos!

Wonder if it’s gonna be like last year - when we had to evacuate for a week. The folks up on the hill above us were stranded for a week. Socked in, couldn’t get out, no electricity, heating, nothing.

Scary. Everybody survived, fortunately enough. But it was close!

[FirstLight]

56. Today's view of the "stairs"

[url=https://imgbb.com/][img][/img][/url]

For reference, this is what it looked like FRIDAY
[url=https://imgbb.com/][img][/img][/url]



The upper deck is about to overflow onto everything too...

the "lump" on the right WAS a BBQ

[url=https://imgbb.com/][img][/img][/url]