August 4, 2021
We have a dry forecast ahead with some windy days. The good news is that the smoke has mostly cleared the Tahoe region. We have a few bigger fires to our north but the typical wind direction during the summer is southwest which is keeping the smoke to our north.
The Forecast:
For Thursday, we will see a small trough move into the West Coast. That will bring us some windy and cooler weather. Highs only in the 70s at lake level. It will be windy most of the day, especially in the afternoon with gusts of 20-30+ mph from the southwest. That will bring rougher water to the lake, and it will also bring higher fire danger. The NWS Reno has issued a Red Flag Warning for Thursday.
The Weekend:
Friday the winds should be much lighter and highs return to around 80 degrees at lake level into Saturday. The sunny and dry weather continues. By Saturday afternoon the typical Zephyr winds should return with southwest winds gusting 15-20+ mph on the lake. That will bring choppy water during the afternoon away from the west shore of the lake.
By Sunday afternoon another trough may be approaching the Pacific Northwest which could help to bring a return of some stronger afternoon winds and slightly cooler air. Lake winds gusting from the southwest 20-30+ mph by afternoon bringing rougher water again.
Early Next Week:
The Pacific NW trough moves into the Rockies early next week. That could keep us slightly cooler with highs only in the 70s at lake level. It could also mean that the gusty afternoon winds continue.
With the change in the pattern this week the southerly flow and surge of monsoonal moisture northward has gone away. That means we don’t have a moisture source through early next week to help develop afternoon showers and thunderstorms as we saw over the past week. The forecast models keep us dry over at least the next 7 days.
– BA