Lake Tahoe Weather

In an outdoor community weather rules the theme of the day, and Lake Tahoe weather can be a very hard thing to predict. The Pacific Crest has a tendency to make its own weather, for example; it can be sunny and 50 degrees in Tahoe City but 40 degrees and ice pelting in Squaw Valley, a meer 10 minute drive apart!

Tahoe has 3 basic seasons that come with different weather expectations: summer, winter, and the shoulder seasons: spring and fall. In the winter you can generally expect big storms that dump lots of snow followed by blue skies. In the summer we have fairly predictably 70 to 80 degree days with sunshine and low humidity. Spring and fall is when things get a little more unpredictable. One week it will be sunny and 75, the next we get 2 inches of snow. If you have the flexibility to keep an eye on the weather and wait to book until it looks good in the 10 day forecast you can get some great deals, great Lake Tahoe weather, and no crowds.

Below are some of Tahoe Rental management’s favorit tools for planning a great day outside. After 10 years of trying to make plans based on the weather in this beautiful and wild place we have developed some methods to deciphering the madness of Lake Tahoe weather. The main thing to remember, no matter where you get your weather from, is never trust the 10 day forecast in the mountains, nothing is reliable until you hit the 5 to 7 day range!

Weather Underground

This is the best all around app for the area. A big thing to consider in Lake Tahoe is elevation. The best feature on this app is the ability to select a weather station closest to where you will be going. For example, if you would like to go for a hike at Mt. Rose meadows the closest town to search is Incline Village, nearly 2,000 feet below! Weather underground is great for this because you can search Incline Village and then further select a weather station up in the meadow rather than down in the town. Download the App 

Open Snow

If white fluffy snow is your calling to Lake Tahoe, Bryan Allegretto with Open Snow is the guy help you answer that call. When a winter storm is on it’s way Bryan does daily (sometimes more) updates for where and when the storm will hit the hardest. It is then up to you if you want to head toward it or away from it! Download the App 

Lake wind Advisory

Part of the beauty of Lake Tahoe is the sheer size of the lake, but it also comes with its weather challenges. Thunderstorms brew on the peaks and come sweeping across the lake with a craft-endangering amount of power. Any time you are planning on hitting the water it is always a good idea to make sure The Lady of the Lake isn’t planning on kicking up her heels later in the afternoon. Advisory 

Webcams

Thanks to technology you do not actually need to have your feet on the ground to know what Lake Tahoe weather is doing in your particular place of interest. All of the major ski resorts and most of the nice lakeside restaurants have webcams.