The first of two storms heading for the Lake Tahoe Basin is expected to strike Thursday afternoon.

The stronger of the two is forecast to arrive late Friday afternoon. Locations above 7,000 are expected to get the brunt of the storms.

The National Weather Service in Reno has issued a winter weather advisory for the basin from 4pm Thursday to 4am Friday – above 7,000 feet.

From Friday through Saturday morning snowfall rates could be in excess of 2 inches per hour. Between 4 and 8 inches could fall above 7,000 feet Thursday, with 2 inches at lake level.

Wind will be a factor with these storms, which could make driving precarious at times.

A foot or more of snow could fall during the second storm at locations above 7,000 feet.

 — Lake Tahoe News staff report