May 24 2008

Lake Tahoe: As Full as it's Going to Get

Posted by: Katie Romans

Okay, so it's not a slogan for the visitor bureau, but my Reno Gazette-Journal today reported that this year's runoff has hit peak and will be on a diminishing trend from now on.

I'm not sure if this forecast took into account the May snow I drove through on my way here or the cloudy skies above, but certainly a few flakes has little effect on a 72-mile, 1,000-ft-deep lake.

Aside from being a disappointment for Lake Tahoe, with river runoff projections as low as 38 percent, this will undoubtedly impact hydroelectric capacity as we look into summer. Apparently, last week's heatwave burned right through the snowpack, causing a quick and final rise in stream and river levels before they begin their steady drop with rising summer temperatures. It seems that the optimism of early winter's heavy snows went down the proverbial drain.

As for Tahoe, the Federal Water Master's Office in Reno reports that, after the couple of inches that should come with this weekend's thunderstorms (great), the rate of lake evaporation will exceed river and stream runoff, and Tahoe will begin to drop. A sad reality, though definitely not a first for this Cal-Neva treasure.

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