Truckee Snowfall Totals & Accumulation Averages

This page pulls together information on when, how much and how often Truckee, California has snow.

There are data and descriptions here of how many days it snows and the total amount of snowfall that Truckee usually gets. There are also monthly and yearly counts of the days that the mountain town normally has heavy snowstorms and deep snow accumulated on the ground. Plus there's information on when Truckee 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 in Truckee.

How Often it Snows in Truckee

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).

10-year snowfall averages in Truckee, 2010 to 2019
Days   Inches Centi­metres
4.5 January 21.4 54.4
4.4 February 27.2 69.2
3.8 March 18.6 47.2
2.1 April 6.2 15.9
0.6 May 1.2 3.1
0.0 June 0.1 0.1
0.1 September 0.2 0.5
0.4 October 2.0 5.2
3.4 November 13.9 35.2
4.0 December 16.2 41.1
23.8 Year 107.3 272.6
30-year snowfall averages in Truckee, 1991 to 2020
Days   Inches Centi­metres
8.7 January 43.6 110.7
8.1 February 47.9 121.7
6.8 March 32.2 81.8
5.4 April 18.5 47.0
1.6 May 4.1 10.4
0.3 June 0.9 2.3
0.2 September 0.5 1.3
1.2 October 2.8 7.1
3.7 November 11.9 30.2
7.8 December 44.2 112.3
43.8 Year 206.6 524.8

These averages don't show how much the snowfall in Truckee varies from year to year.

In December, for instance, one in four years totals over 60.5 inches of snow. Another 25 percent of years receive less than 18.2 inches for the month.

Similarly in January, fresh snowfall in the heaviest years amounts to over 72 inches, while the lightest years get less than eight inches.

New snow for February ranges from over 73 inches in heavy snowfall years to under 13 inches in light years.

When Truckee Has Its First & Last Snowfalls

The first snowfall of autumn for Truckee usually arrives in October or November, but show up as early as September.

The season's last snowfall is usually in May, but in some years, it keeps on snowing until June.

Truckee is normally free of snow every year during July and August.

How Many Snowstorms Truckee Gets

Most days of snowfall in Truckee leave at least an inch of fresh snow. For 24 days a year on average, the amount of new snow totals three inches or more.

Snowstorms of over five inches a day normally occur 16 times a year. Typically six of these storms are major blizzards that dump ten inches or more. Snow events this severe can descend on the town anytime from October to April. A day with 20 inches or more of new snow happens on average once a year.

Number of days per month and year on average in Truckee with a total snowfall of at least 1, 3, 5 or 10 inches
1 inch
2.5 cm
3 inches
7.6 cm
  5 inches
12.7 cm
10 inches
25.4 cm
8.5 4.9 January 3.5 1.5
7.9 4.8 February 3.9 1.8
6.6 4.0 March 2.6 0.7
4.8 2.4 April 1.3 0.3
1.5 0.4 May 0.3 0.0
0.3 0.1 June 0.1 0.0
0.2 0.1 September 0.0 0.0
0.9 0.3 October 0.2 0.1
3.6 1.7 November 0.7 0.2
7.6 4.8 December 3.7 1.5
41.9 23.5 Year 16.3 6.1

How Much Snow Normally Accumulates in Truckee

On most winter days, Truckee has at least five inches of snow on the ground.

Snow usually accumulates to ten or more inches deep from December to April. Truckee averages 64 days a year when the snow depth reaches 20 inches or more.

Average total days per month and year in Truckee with snow depth of at least 1, 3, 5 or 10 inches on the ground
1 inch
2.5 cm
3 inches
7.6 cm
  5 inches
12.7 cm
10 inches
25.4 cm
30.6 29.3 January 28.3 22.5
26.9 26.0 February 25.2 23.8
29.1 27.9 March 27.3 24.0
15.2 12.6 April 11.6 9.1
2.8 1.3 May 1.0 0.4
0.3 0.1 June 0.1 0.0
0.2 0.1 September 0.0 0.0
1.9 0.8 October 0.5 0.1
10.3 5.8 November 3.1 1.1
26.5 23.7 December 21.2 14.8
143.8 127.6 Year 118.3 95.8
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.

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