Tahoe City Snowfall Totals & Accumulation Averages
This page pulls together information on when, how much and how often Tahoe City, California has snow.
There are data and descriptions here of how many days it snows and the total amount of snowfall that Tahoe City usually gets. There are also monthly and yearly counts of the days that the vacation town normally has heavy snowstorms and deep snow accumulated on the ground. Plus there's information on when Tahoe City can expect the first and last snowfalls of the season.
The first set of monthly snow totals are averages for 2010 to 2019. All the other numbers are long-term historical averages based on weather data gathered from 1991 to 2020 at Sunnyside–Tahoe City on the west shore of Lake Tahoe.
How Often it Snows in Tahoe City
The next two tables list monthly and yearly totals for amount of snow and how many days it snows at least 0.1 inches (0.25 centimetres).
| Days | Inches | Centimetres | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.9 | January | 32.3 | 81.9 |
| 6.0 | February | 36.1 | 91.7 |
| 7.2 | March | 36.8 | 93.5 |
| 3.1 | April | 11.7 | 29.6 |
| 1.4 | May | 4.2 | 10.5 |
| 0.1 | June | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| 0.1 | September | 0.2 | 0.5 |
| 0.7 | October | 2.8 | 7.1 |
| 2.6 | November | 9.6 | 24.4 |
| 5.3 | December | 22.4 | 56.8 |
| 29.4 | Year | 148.1 | 376.2 |
| Days | Inches | Centimetres | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.2 | January | 37.9 | 96.3 |
| 7.5 | February | 41.3 | 104.9 |
| 7.5 | March | 34.7 | 88.1 |
| 4.2 | April | 14.0 | 35.6 |
| 1.2 | May | 2.8 | 7.1 |
| 0.2 | June | 0.2 | 0.5 |
| 0.1 | September | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| 0.7 | October | 2.4 | 6.1 |
| 3.3 | November | 9.4 | 23.9 |
| 6.8 | December | 36.2 | 91.9 |
| 38.7 | Year | 179.0 | 454.7 |
These averages don't show how much the snowfall in Tahoe City varies from year to year.
In December, for instance, one in four years totals over 61.5 inches of snow. Another 25 percent of years receive 11.2 inches or less for the month.
Similarly in January, fresh snowfall in the heaviest years amounts to over 59 inches, while the lightest years get 5.5 inches at most.
New snow for February ranges from over 61.7 inches in heavy snowfall years to under 13 inches in light years.
When Tahoe City Has Its First & Last Snowfalls
The first snowfall of autumn for Tahoe City usually arrives in November. Every three or four years October also gets snow.
The season's last snowfall at the resort town can happen as early as April. But it often keeps on snowing until May.
Tahoe City is normally free of snow every year from June to September.
How Many Snowstorms Tahoe City Gets
Most days of snowfall in Tahoe City leave at least an inch of fresh snow. For 20 days a year on average, the amount of new snow totals three inches or more.
Snowstorms of over five inches a day normally occur 13 times a year. Typically five or six of these storms are major blizzards that dump ten inches or more. Snow events this severe can descend on Tahoe anytime from November to April.
| 1 inch 2.5 cm |
3 inches 7.6 cm |
5 inches 12.7 cm |
10 inches 25.4 cm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.2 | 4.0 | January | 2.9 | 1.4 |
| 6.6 | 4.0 | February | 2.8 | 1.5 |
| 6.5 | 3.8 | March | 2.4 | 1.0 |
| 3.3 | 1.8 | April | 1.1 | 0.2 |
| 1.1 | 0.5 | May | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| 0.1 | 0.0 | June | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 0.0 | 0.0 | September | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 0.6 | 0.2 | October | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| 2.8 | 1.6 | November | 0.9 | 0.4 |
| 6.2 | 3.7 | December | 2.5 | 1.2 |
| 33.4 | 19.6 | Year | 12.8 | 5.7 |
How Much Snow Normally Accumulates in Tahoe City
On most winter days, Tahoe City has at least an inch of snow on the ground.
Snow usually accumulates to ten or more inches deep from December to April. For about half of January through to March, the snow here builds up to twenty inches or more.
| 1 inch 2.5 cm |
3 inches 7.6 cm |
5 inches 12.7 cm |
10 inches 25.4 cm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27.1 | 24.8 | January | 22.3 | 18.2 |
| 24.4 | 22.9 | February | 21.8 | 19.1 |
| 25.7 | 24.3 | March | 23.2 | 20.7 |
| 13.5 | 11.8 | April | 10.7 | 8.6 |
| 1.5 | 0.7 | May | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| 0.1 | 0.0 | June | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 0.1 | 0.0 | September | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 1.0 | 0.5 | October | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| 6.9 | 3.9 | November | 2.5 | 1.2 |
| 23.9 | 20.1 | December | 16.6 | 11.1 |
| 124.2 | 109.0 | Year | 97.7 | 79.0 |
References
Jay Lawrimore, Ron Ray, Scott Applequist, Bryant Korzeniewski, Matthew Menne. 2016. Global Summary of the Month and Year, Version 1.0. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Climate Normals.