Tahoe area braces for blizzard with avalanche warnings, high wind expected

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. -- The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for the Lake Tahoe area above 7,000 feet.

This is only the fourth blizzard warning for the Tahoe Basin in the past ten years, so experts say you should take it seriously!

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Much of the area already got significant snow last night and early this morning.

Kevin "Coop" Cooper with Outside Television/Lake Tahoe TV says he woke up to 14 inches of new snow in South Lake Tahoe. On the north side of the lake, he says as much as 29 inches fell.

Coop tells us most resorts opened today, but many had runs closed because of heavy wind gusts.

Now, with all the snow expected tonight, avalanche danger is high.

"Everyone should level set their expectations and not plan to ski and ride tomorrow" according to Coop.

"This is a blizzard and we have to take the health, safety, and welfare of our guests and our locals into considering before we open the resorts," he said.

Driving to Tahoe tonight and tomorrow is likely to be extremely hazardous if the roads are even open.

But Coop predicts skiing and riding at Tahoe will be "amazing" from Friday through early next week.

There is also a good chance the Sierra snowpack could be back up to 100% of normal by the end of January.