Winter weather about to descend on Lake Tahoe

Updated April 27 1:04pm.

By Kathryn Reed

Summer, the other season Lake Tahoe has besides winter, is 55 days away, according to the calendar.

That must mean winter is still here. To confirm that fact, the National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory from 5pm today through 9am Wednesday for elevations above 7,000 feet. Expect snow and blowing snow during those 16 hours as the winds pick up.

Driving may be interesting on mountain roads later today. Photo/Kathryn Reed

A wind advisory in affect for Lake Tahoe and many roads in the basin as well as Highway 395. The Weather Service says Highway 89 could be the most precarious today, with cross winds making travel dicey.

High winds Monday night into Tuesday morning kept many residents in the region awake. Trees are down in several areas, including one into a house on Washington Avenue near Third Street in South Lake Tahoe.

Wind has also taken out power lines in several locations. Lights have been flickering on and off for hours in the basin. Expect much of the same for the rest of Tuesday.

About 20 customers were without power from 3-9am today in the Cascade Lake area on the South Shore when a tree went into a line. Pockets of the Al Tahoe and Heavenly neighborhoods are without power still at 1pm.

A small outage also is being reported in Truckee.

Fay Anderson, spokeswoman with NV Energy, said the more significant outages have been in Reno and valley areas.

Keep candles and flashlights on hand in case the power goes out completely.

Reno-Tahoe International Airport is reporting delays.

First the rain will come, followed by snow later this afternoon. Forecasters say the heaviest snow will be between 5 and 10 tonight.

Expect to shovel 2-5 inches below 7,000 feet and 5-10 inches above that elevation.

Chain controls are predicted, as well as slick roads.

Don’t put away the shovel because snow is in the forecast for the rest of the week.

The sun is expected to return for the weekend, when highs will be in the 40s on Saturday and 50s on Sunday. Until then, expect highs in the 30s and lows in the 20s.