A seemingly never-ending winter at Lake Tahoe has now made its way into the history books as the second snowiest winter on record in the Sierra.
No one really knows how much snow fell on the infamous Donner lot when the pioneers were trapped atop the Sierra for months and dozens died in the winter of 1846-47. But there has been 16.4 feet of fall this season at the Central Sierra Snow Lab in Soda Springs, California.
That surpasses the 55.9 feet that fell in 1982-83. The harshest winter in 77 years of official record was nearly 28 feet in 1951-52 when more than 200 passengers on a luxury train were stranded near Donner Pass for three days.
Here is a list of the Top 10 Sierra winters with the most snow in nearly 80 years since the UC-Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab began keeping records in 1946 northwest of Lake Tahoe near Donner Pass in Soda Springs, California:
TOP TEN HISTORIC SIERRA SNOW SEASON
1951-1952 – 812 inches (2062 cm) or 67.7 feet (20.6 meters)
2022-23 – 677 inches (1,719.6 cm) or 56.4 feet (17.2 meters)
1982-1983 – 671 inches (1704 cm) or 55.9 feet (17 metres)
2010-11 – 643 inches (1635 cm) or 53.6 feet (16.35 meters)
1981-1982 – 624 inches (1583 cm) or 52 feet (15.8 meters)
1968–69 – 602 inches (1529 cm) or 50.2 feet (15.3 meters)
1994-1995 – 598 inches (1519 cm) or 49.8 feet (15.2 meters)
1955-1956 – 594 inches (1509 cm) or 49.5 feet (15.1 meters)
1957-1958 – 593 inches (1506 cm) or 49.4 feet (15 metres)
2016-17 – 573 inches (1455 cm) or 47.7 feet (14.5 meters)
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Source: UC-Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab; Soda Springs, California; established in 1946. The snow season coincides with the water season which begins on October 1 and runs through September 30.
